977.365 
01,1  p 


Old  Settlers'  Association  of 
Vermilion  County,  Illinois 
PROCEEDINGS  Catlin,  IL  1885 


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977.365 
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PROCEEDINGS 


OF    THE 


CATLIN,   -    ILLINOIS, 


Saturday,  September  20th,  1885. 


Series  Bo»  t» 


1886: 

ILLINOIS  PRINTING  Co.,  PRINTKHS  AND  BOOK  BINI>KBS, 
DANVILLE,  ILL. 


UNIVERSITY  OF 


PROCEEDINGS 

OF  THE 

OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING, 

HELD  AT  CATLIN,  ILL., 

JIvfl:  BE  R,    i26,    1885. 


The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  Hon.  J.  H.  OAK\VOOD,  at 
10:30  A.  M.,  who  spoke  as  follows : 

" Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  Two  weeks  ago,  at  a  meeting  held 
in  Catlin,  and  trailed  by  John  W.  Nevvlon  and  myself,  it  was 
determined  .to  hold  a  reunion  of  old  settlers,  and  to  organize  an 
Old  Settlers'  Association.  Between  the  years  1820  and  1834  this 
country  passed  from  the  control  of  savage  to  that  of  civilized  men. 
One  of  the  principal  objects  of  this  contemplated  organization  is 
to  gather  up  and  preserve  whatever  we  can  of  the  history  of  this 
transition,  and  of  the  history  of  later  years.  Most  of  the  pioneers 
have  passed  away,  and  the  history  that  they  alone  knew  is  forever 
lost.  Others  are  passing  away  year  after  year,  and  soon  all  will 
have  gone. 

"  I  see  now  before  me  many  old  gray  headed  men  and  women 
— old  pioneers — seventy,  eighty  and  ninety  years  of  age,  many  of 
whom  were  here  before  the  Indians  gave  up  the  country  to  the 
white  race.  And  while  they  yet  live  it  is  important  that  the 
history  that  they  alone  know  should  be  collected,  printed  and 
preserved,  for  the  use  of  the  future  historian  and  the  information 
of  future  generations.  ' 

"The  organization  of  such  an  association  has  long  been  con- 
templated and  too  long  delayed." 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE 


Upon  invitation  of  the  President,  Rev.  ELI  HELMICK  led  in 
prayer,  as  follows : 

"  We  thank  Thee,  our  Heavenly  Father,  that  we  are  so  com- 
fortably situated  here  to-day  as  we  are.  We  thank  Thee  for  such 
a  beautiful  day,  and  the  privilege  of  so  many  old  friends — the 
first  settlers  of  this  county — assembling  together  here  in  order  to 
interchange  thought  and  enjoy  each  others'  society.  We  praise 
Thee  for  all  the  mercies  of  the  past.  We  adore  Thee,  that  we  look 
forward  to  the  future  as  well  as  we  look  back  at  the  past;  and 
that  we  have  enjoyed  each  others'  society  many  years  in  days  that 
are  past  and  gone;  and  expect,  if  faithful  until  death,  that  we 
shall  enjoy  each  others'  society  in  a  better  land  than  this  (Amen!) 
We  praise  the  name  of  our  God  for  that  prospect.  Oh,  brighten 
our  prospects  to-day.  Give  us  to  feel  and  to  enjoy  the  love  of 
God  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  given 
unto  us.  The  Lord  bless  this  meeting  to-day.  Bless  the  old 
friends  that  have  in  days  of  other  years  assembled  together,  and 
have  seen  each  others'  faces,  and  enjoyed  each  others'  hospitalities. 
Oh,  blessed  Lord,  may  our  friendship  be  renewed  to-day.  Oh, 
grant  that  we  may  enjoy  each  others'  society  here,  remembering 
our  former  associations  and  enjoyments,  and  looking  forward  to 
our  future  prospects.  The  Lord  save  us  from  the  accidents  and 
dangers  of  to-day.  May  His  guardian  care  protect,  surround  and 
defend  us  from  all  harm.  Guide  us  in  Thy  praise  while  we  live  in 
this  world,  and  afterwards  receive  us  to  glory,  and  Thy  name  shall 
have  all  the  praise,  world  without  end,  amen." 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING. 


CONSTITUTION, 

Adopted  September  26,  1885. 


ARTICLE  I. 

This  Association  shall  be  known  as  "THE  OLD  SETTLERS' 
ASSOCIATION  OF  VERMILION  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS." 

ARTICLE  II. 

The  officers  of  this  Association  shall  be  a  President,  Secretary 
and  Treasurer,  and  one  Vice  President  from  each  Township  in  the 
County,  who  shall  be  elected  at  the  annual  reunion,  and  shall  hold 
their  respective  offices  until  the  first  day  of  March  after  the  next 
annual  meeting. 

ARTICLE  III. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President  to  preside  at  the  meet- 
ings of  the  Association  and  of  the  Board  of  Officers. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

The  Board  of  Officers  shall  cause  an  annual  reunion  to  be 
held  at  such  time  and  place  as  they  may  determine. 

ARTICLE  V. 

The  Secretary  and  Treasurer  shall  keep  a  record  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Association  and  of  the  Board  of  Officers,  and  pay 
out  the  funds  of  the  Association  on  the  order  of  the  President  or 
the  Board  of  Officers. 

ARTICLE  \L 

Any  person  who  has  resided  in  the  County  of  Vermilion  and 
State  of  Illinois  thirty  (30)  years,  m:iy  become  a  member  of  this 
Association  by  subscribing  to  the  Constitution. 


IM:OCKKDIN<JS  OK  THE 


After  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  a  permanent  organiza- 
tion was  effected,  as  follows  : 


J.  H.  OAK  WOOD, 
JOHN  W.  NEWLON, 


President. 
Secretary  and  Treasurer. 


VICE  PRESIDENTS. 


LEVI  LONG, 
SILAS  DICKSON, 
HENRY  SALLEE, 
AKCHIK  McDowBUL, 
JOHN  FLETCHER, 
WM.  M.  PAYNE, 
A.  G.  PAYNE, 
BEXJ.  BREWER, 
L.  M.  THOMPSON, 
MILLER  T.  FINLEY, 
JASPER  ATWOOD, 
ELI  HELMICK, 
RICHARD  COURTNEY, 
ISAAC  A.  SIMPSON, 
JOHN  F.  CAMPBELL, 


-  Georgetown  Township. 
Carroll  " 
Oak  wood               " 
Sidell 

Elwood 

Danville  " 

Cat  I  in  " 

Newell  " 

Ross  " 

Grant  " 

Blnant 

Pilot 

Middle  Fork 

Vance 

-  Butler 


The   President  called   upon   Hon.   H.  W.    BECKWITH.     Mr. 
BECKWITH  responded  as  follows: 


OLD   .SETTLERS     MEETING. 


ADDRESS  OF  H.  W.  BECKWITH. 


Citizens,  and  neighbors  of  Vermilion  County,  with  a  pleasure 
that  I  can  not  well  express,  I  meet  you  this  morning.  And,  how- 
ever great  that  pleasure  may  be,  still  I  meet  you  more  with  a  sense 
of  duty  that  I  owe  to  you,  and  that  you  in  common  with  me  owe 
to  others  than  any  mere  pleasure  I  may  have  in  talking  to  you. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  spot  in  Vermilion  County  that  could  be 
more  appropriately  selected  as  a  place  for  an  old  settlers'  meeting, 
and  the  organization  of  an  old  settlers'  society,  than  here  at  this 
little  point,  of  timber,  jutting  out  into  the  prairie,  which  used  to  be 
known  as  "Butler's  Point,"  because  of  its  associations  with  the 
very  earliest  history  of  Vermilion  County  as  a  municipal  organiza- 
tion. You  have,  met,  as  I  am  advised,  not  so  much  for  the  pleasures 
that  I  know  you  will  derive  from  the  meeting,  as  to  organize  an  old 
settlers'  society  for  the  purpose  of  perpetuating  a  remembrance  of 
the  past  for  the  benefit  of  generations  who  will  occupy  this  country 
when  we  shall  have  done  with  it. 

And  right  here  we  are  met  with  great  difficulty — a  difficulty 
that  tloes  not  obtain  in  the  Eastern  States  at  all — and  growing  out 
of  the  different  characters  of  the  people  who  settled  the  East  from 
the  mother  country,  and  those  who  settled  the  West.  They  who 
first  broke  out  the  land  and  subdued  the  wilderness  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  were  mainly  educated  people;  they  were  exceptionably 
religious,  and  it  was  because  of  their  religious  persecution  that  they 
left  the  comforts  of  Europe  and  came  to  this  side  of  the  Atlantic, 
preferring  to  enjoy  the  liberty  of  conscience  and  battle  with  all  the 
adversities  of  a  wild  country,  than  to  be  restrained  in  their  ideas 
of  what  is  right  and  wrong  in  the  land  where  they  were  born. 
Their  ministers  wrote  out  their  sermons.  When  they  had  meet- 
ings, they  had  a  secretary  and  the  minutes  were  recorded.  When 
children  were  born,  they  were  baptized,  and  records  were  kept  of 
births  and  deaths  and  marriages.  And  to  this  day  it  is  an  easy 
matter  to  trace  back  the  genealogy  of  almost  anybody  who  settled, 
or  who  were  the  descendants  of  the  settlers  of  the  New  England 
States. 


PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE 


But  when  we  have  come  west  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains,  in 
the  process  of  time,  a  different  population  grew  up.  Without 
schools,  without  social  organizations,  they  t<>  a  certain  extent  ran 
wild,  becoming  what  we 'call  "border  men"  and  " border  women." 
And  it  is  this  last  class  of  population  who  led  the  advance  guard 
in  the  westward  progress  of  the  settlement  of  this  country.  But 
very  few  of  them  could  either  read  or  write.  They  had  no  print- 
ing presses,  no  regular  church  organizations,  no  school  houses,  and 
no  established  society. 

They  were  poor;  they  had  to  contend  against  the  wild 
animals  and  the  wild  men  of  this  country,  its  bad  climate,  and 
more  than  all  that,  they  were  hampered  by  their  very  poverty,  and 
were  so  busy  in  obtaining  a  bare  living  that  they  had  no  time  to 
write,  had  they  known  how  to  use  a  pen. 

Now  the  time  has  come  when  our  children  inquire  back,  who 
are  you?  Who  were  •  my  father  and  mother?  Where  did  they 
come  from  ?  Who  was  their  father  and  their  mother,  and  where 
did  they  formerly  live?  What  was  the  condition  of  this  country 
when  they  first  came  here?  Where  did  they  settle?  How  did 
they  live,  what  did  they  have  to  do  with,  and  how  did  they  get 
along?  Having  no  records  to  fall  back  upon,  no  sermons,  nor 
marriage  or  birth  registers  or  death  registers,  or  pamphlets  of 
church  or  family  reunions,  there  is  only  one  thing  we  can  now  do, 
and  that  is  to  gather  up  what  the  old  settlers  may  know,  to  glean 
what  yet  may  be  left — and  how  late  we  are  in  the  field  ! 

Old  settlers'  societies  have  been  organized  nearly  all  over  the 
State ;  and  they  are  gathering  up  the  reminiscences,  are  interview- 
ing old  ladies  and  old  gentlemen,  who  are  giving  in  their  family 
histories.  They  are  put  together,  and  conflicting  dates,  facts  and 
incidents  are  reconciled ;  and  something  in  that  way  is  being 
accumulated  and  preserved  for  the  future.  And  as  I  intimated  a 
moment  ago,  it  is  in  the  sense  of  duty,  that  we  owe  to  those  follow- 
ing us,  that  we,  here  in  Vermilion  County,  should  gather  up  the 
stray  sheaves  that  yet  may  be  found ;  and  I  feel  as  though  the 
day  would  be  better  appropriated  were  we  now  to  get  the 
reminiscences  of  those  that  are  here  now,  than  to  indulge  in  plat- 
form addresses.  There  are  among  us  here  to-day  old  settlers  who 
never  will  be  at  a  meeting  of  this  kind  again.  When  they  have 


OLD    SETTLERS7    MEETING. 


gone  what  they  know  will  have  been  lost.  How  easy  a  matter  it 
would  have  been  when,  thirty  or  forty  years  ago,  Mr.  Butler, 
Cyrus  Douglass  and  Amos  Wooden  were  living — I  see  his  daughter 
here  to-day,  Mrs.  Stausbury,  one  of  the  relics  of  the  past.  Then 
there  were  Marquis  Snow,  Francis  Whitcomb,  Noah  Guyman, 
Mr.  Oakwood,  Sr.,  Joseph  Davis,  Father  John  Thompson)  John 
Payne,  Sr.,  the  Brookes's  and  Morgans,  all  of  this  neighborhood, 
and  others  in  different  parts  of  the  county — along  the  Little  Ver- 
milion, at  Danville,  in  Newell  Township,  and  Blount,  Oakwood 
and  Pilot,  from  whence  names  will  readily  occur  to  you.  How 
easy,  I  say,  it  would  have  been  had  we  begun  so  long  ago  as  that 
to  gather  up  the  reminiscences  of  these  men  and  their  wives. 
They  would  be  precious  beyond  all  records  that  we  have. 

There  is  hardly  one  of  all  those  but  whose  ancestors,  for  two 
or  three  generations  back,  have  taken  a  part  in  the  border  settle- 
ments of  this  country,  that  spread  from  the  tide  waters  of  the 
Atlantic,  over  the  Alleghenies,  into  Kentucky  south  of  the  Ohio 
River,  and  northward  into  Eastern  Ohio,  and  from  thence  across 
those  States  into  Indiana,  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina  and  the 
West.  None  of  them  but  who,  or  their  immediate  ancestors, 
mother  and  father  alike,  have  borne  a  part  of  the  burthens  and 
shared  the  dangers  of  those  romantic  times,  and  bore  the  scars  of 
the  conflicts  and  the  sufferings  that  they  endured.  And  yet  it  is 
only  threads — only  an  occasional  thread  we  can  now  gather  up  of 
these  scattered  ends  which  go  so  far  in  making  up  the  history  of 
this  country. 

As  for  myself,  I  occupy  a  very  peculiar  position,  a  sort  of 
connecting  link,  as  it  were,  between  the  old  or  early  settlers  of 
the  country  and  the  new.  A  great  many  have  interviewed  me. 
They  say:  Mr.  Beckwith,  you  were  born  in  Danville?  You  lived 
here  all  your  life?  Well,  you  have  seen,  great  changes  in  this 
country  ?  I  answer  that  the  greatest  change  I  have  seen  is  in  the 
people,  in  the  way  in  which  they  lived,  and  how  they  did,  their 
notions  of  affairs,  their  manners,  customs  and  dress — all  differing 
from  the  present  day ;  and  I  now  think  if  I  had  the  ability  to 
portray  to  the  larger  portion  of  this  audience,  especially  to  the 
younger  stock — to  delineate  to  them  the  appearance  of  their  an- 
cestors in  this  part  of  Illinois — that  the  sketch  would  savor  more 


10  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE 

of  romance  than  of  truth.  But  there  are  enough  of  living 
witnesses  now  around  me  here  to  testify  as  to  whether  I  exaggerate 
or  not. 

Every  man  in  those  pioneer  days  was  his  own  carpenter.  He 
tinkered  up  his  own  wagou ;  made  his  mold-boards  of  wood  for 
his  plow;  mended  his  harness;  made  his  cradles  and  his  bedsteads. 
He  was  a  shoemaker,  and  had  the  implements,  very  few  and  crude, 
often  implements  of  his  own  make,  with  which  he  made  the  shoes 
that  his  wife  and  children  wore.  The  mothers  or  elder  daughters 
took  the  wool  as  it  came  from  the  back  of  the  sheep,  carded  it 
into  rolls,  spun  it  into  yarn  and  wove  it  into  fabrics.  They  broke 
the  flax  and  made  the  tow  and  linen  with  which  her  under  gar- 
ments and  lighter  summer  wear  were  composed.  I  have  seen 
whole  families  in  Danville  clad  in  garments  thus  made  at  home. 

People  were  rough  in  their  exterior,  in  their  polish,  in  their 
manner.  Those  were  the  days  of  physical  manhood  ;  when  a  man 
was  regarded  as  a  man  because  he  had  physical  strength,  and  so 
with  the  partner  of  his  joys  and  his  cares.  She,  too,  was  to  be  a 
person  of  great  bodily  strength,  and  of  great  courage,  who  would 
fight  a  wolf  or  an  Indian  at  her  door,  as  a  bear  would  fight  for  her 
cubs.  They  were  uneducated,  in  fact,  education  in  those  days  was 
unpopular.  Ministers  of  the  gospel  who  were  book  learned  did 
not  hold  as  commanding  a  position  in  the  church  as  the  illiterate 
exhorters,  who  spoke,  as  they  claimed,  from  inspired  thought. 

With  all  that,  they  were  a  hospitable  people  and  fraternal 
toward  each  other,  and  in  exhibitions  of  kindness  and  neighborly 
good  will,  far  beyond  anything  of  the  kind  which  we  see  now  days. 
They  made  common  cause  and  stood  together  f6r  each  others' 
comfort  and  protection.  They  visited  the  sick,  buried  the  dead, 
sympathized  with  those  who  were  in  misfortune,  with  a  genuine- 
ness and  a  non-demonstrative  affection,  examples  of  which  we  do 
not  find  in  our  more  modern  society  of  to-day.  In  fact,  it  has 
been  stated  by  able  writers  that  education  and  refinement  are  like 
a  veneering:  they  put  on  an  outward  polish  that  is,  sometimes, 
very  thin,  whereas  the  early  border  man  had  a  regard  and  neigh- 
borly sentiment  for  those  around  him  that  was  of  and  near  to 
his  heart. 

No  country  other  than  that  of  the  West  has  went  through 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING.  11 


such  an  experience,  the  like  of  which  never  will  or  never  can  be 
again,  because  the  conditions  of  society  do  not  exist,  nor  will  they 
ever  again. 

It  is  no  trouble  at  all  now,  with  the  railroad,  the  saw-mill, 
telegraph,  the  express  lines,  and  the  printing  press,  to  establish  a 
new  society  west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  in  Kansas,  Iowa, 
Nebraska,  or  in  Dakota,  because  all  the  conveniences  of  civilization 
are  taken  right  along  with  the  new  colony.  But  at  an  early  day, 
when  population  came  in  here,  the  weary  emigrants  traveled 
thousands  of  miles  over  a  country  where  there  were  no  roads  and 
no  people,  or  bridges,  nor  formes  at  any  of  the  streams,  bringing 
nothing  with  them  but  stout  hearts  and  strong  hands.  In  fact,  a 
great  majority  of  them  came  because  they  had  nothing  where  they 
came  from,  and  they  moved  here  to  better  their  condition.  There 
was  no  commerce.  No  Cincinnati,  or  Chicago,  or  St.  Louis  or  any 
other  marts  where  the  surplus  of  the  country  could  be  disposed 
of.  The  early  timers  had  neither  railroads  nor  canals,  and  their 
implements  and  eifects  were  of  the  crudest  nature — the  axe,  the  old 
fashioned  spinning  wheel,  the  loom,  the  flax  break.  They  had  no 
physicians,  no  druggists,  and  even  no  undertakers.  It  is,  there- 
fore, to  perpetuate  as  much  as  we  now  can  of  those  old  times,  and 
of  those  old  ways  of  the  pioneers,  and  preserve  them  for  the  gratifi- 
cation and  instruction  of  our  posterity  that  suggests  the  organization 
of  old  settlers'  societies. 

I  have  dwelt  somewhat  upon  this  train  of  thought  at  the 
suggestion  of  your  Chairman,  as  I  came  out  to-day  with  no  set 
speech  at  all.  I  took,  however,  some  little  memoranda  so  that 
I  might  not  get  lost  as  I  was  talking,  and  have  largely  adapted 
myself  to  what  I  have  understood  to  be  the  wish  of  those  present 
as  to  what  I  shall  say. 

There  are  some  few  matters  about  which  I  would  like  to  talk, 
and  that  more  for  the  purpose  of  correcting  what  I  suppose  to  be 
some  mistakes,  than  otherwise,  and  if  I  am  in  error,  I  hope  that 
as  I  proceed  those  who  may  be  here  that  have  a  better  recollection 
will  correct  me. 

One  mistake  has  originated  in  regard  to  what  is  supposed  to 
be  the  first  house  in  the  County  and  used  as  the  first  Court  House. 
I  have  it  from  Mrs.  Douglass  herself,  the  daughter  of  James 


12  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE 

Butler,  who  came  here  to  Butler's  Point  when  she  was  about 
sixteen  years  old — in  1821 — that  their  first  house  was  over  on  the 
otljer  side  of  the  public  highway,  here,  that  leads  from  Catlin  to 
Fairmount.  Their  first  house  was  there  on  Butler's  Branch ;  and 
that  some  few  years  afterwards  he  built  another  and  a  better  house 
out  in  this  direction  (indicating),  but  a  short  distance  from  here; 
and  that  it  was  at  this  last  house  the  first  Court  ever  held  in  Ver- 
milion County  as  a  Court,  was  convened,  and  it  was  held  on  the 
9th  day  of  May,  1826. 

For  the  purpose  of  enabling  you  to  know  who  were  among 
the  residents  at  that  time  of  the  County  I  took  down  the  names 
of  the  first  Grand  Jury,  and  among  that  number  are  names  of 
some  men  whom  you  will  recollect.  It  stands  on  the  record  like 
this:  Jacob  Bra/el  ton,  Foreman;  John  Haworth,  Henry  Canaday, 
Barnett  Starr,  Robert  Dixon,  John  Cassiday,  James  McClure, 
Alexander  McDonald,  Henry  Johnson,  Henry  Matin,  William 
Haworth,  Robert  Trickle,  Isaac  M.  Howard,  John  Currant, 
John  Lamb,  Francis  Whitcomb,  Amos  Wooden,  Cyrus  Douglass, 
Harvey  Luddingtoii,  George  Beck  with  and  Jesse  Gilbert.  James 
O.  Wattles,  Judge;  Amos  Williams,  Clerk;  William  Reed,  Sheriff. 

That  term  of  Court  was  held  at  the  house  of  James  Butler. 
There  can  not  very  well  be  any  mistake  about  this,  because  it  is 
taken  right  off  of  the  records  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  this  County, 
and  it  is  so  recorded. 

It  says  it  was  "  held  at  the  house  of  James  D.  Butler."  The 
Court  was  only  one  day  in  session ;  there  was  no  Petit  Jury ;  the 
Grand  Jury  found  two  indictments  and  then  adjourned.  The 
indictments  were,  one  against  William  E.  Douglass  and  one 
against  George  Swisher,  for  assault  and  battery  [laughter]. 

Well,  that  was  all  right  enough,  in  those  days.  A  man  that 
would  not  fight  then  was  just  no  man  at  all.  I  have  seen  in  the 
streets  of  Danville  as  many  as  a  dozen  fights  going  on  at  a  time. 
Many  of  them  were  to  satisfy  grudges,  real  or  conceived,  between 
the  contestants,  and  many  were  fought  merely  to  find  out  which 
was  the  best  man  of  the  two.  [A  voice:  That  is  it,  lots  of  them]. 
Every  neighborhood  had  its  fighting  man,  and  he  was  expected  to 
maintain  the  honor  of  his  neighborhood  against  all  contestants. 
And  after  a  fight  was  over,  the  combatants  would  shake  hands 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING.  13 


and  wipe  the  blood  off  of  their  faces  and  patch  up  their  battered 
craniums,  take  a  drink  of  whiskey  and  be  first  rate  friends. 
[A  voice :  "That  is  a  fact"].  I  could,  and  will  do  so,  without  any 
discredit  to  any  of  the  friends  of  the  parties  at  all,  because  it  was 
no  discredit  in  those  days,  and  I  only  speak  of  it  as  one  of  the 
conditions  of  the  times,  one  of  the  experiences  of  that  age :  Down 
about  Kyger's  mill,  on  the  Vermilion  River,  were  the  Lowes — 
Phil,  and  John.  Up  on  the  Salt  Fork  were  the  Buoys;  the  name 
of  one  was  Laban,  and  the  name  of  the  other  I  don't  remember. 
I  have  seen  him  fight  many  times.  [A  voice:  "James"].  Then, 
north  of  Danville  were  the  Lackeys,  and  in  the  town  of  Danville 
there  was  always  a  pretty  good  array  of  men  with  fighting  records. 
All  fought  without  weapons.  A  man  who  would  use  a  knife  or  a 
pistol— and  I  don't  think  there  were  many  pistols  in  the  country 
at  that  time,  except  those  little  old  flint  locks — 

[A  voice:  Ought  not  he  to  be  called  a  coward?] 
Mr.  Beckwith :  Yes.  I  have  heard  men  say,  "I  won't  fight 
you;  you  are  an  internal  coward,  you  know  you  are;  you  carry  a 
knife,  a  weapon,  and  no  honorable  man  would  fight  with  you; 
put  your  weapons  down  and  come  out  on  the  street  and  1  will  see 
whether  I  can  tan  your  moccasins  for  you."  Now  no  man  even 
looks  fight  but  that  tlie  policemen  or  a  constable  run  them  into  the 
calaboose.  The  more  tender  footed  in  those  days  hoped  the  officers 
of  the  law  would  interfere  with  men  engaged  fighting,  but  they 
did  not.  Because  I  remember  very  well  seeing  three  or  four 
fights  going  on  in  front  of  Mr.  Mann's  store  in  Danville  in  one 
day.  There  was  great  excitement.  Men  were  gathered  all  around, 
and  up  came  Captain  Frazier,  the  Sheriff  of  the  County,  a  great 
strong  man.  He  was  then  in  the  prime  of  his  manhood,  and  he 
shouldered  his  way  in  the  crowd,  right  and  left.  You  would 
think  he  was  going  to  stop  the  fight,  and  he  would  say:  "Stand 
back,  and  give  them  air — a  fair  fight."  [Laughter], 

But  while  these  fist,  tooth  and  nail  fights  were  fair  fights, 
enemies  were  honorable  enemies.  They  would  not  -kill  your  stock, 
cut  your  harness,  set  your  hay  stack  on  fire,  or  throw  a  brick-bat 
at  you,  or  hit  you  from  behind  your  back.  They  would  not  do 
that.  They  were  high  minded  and  honorable  in  their  enmities. 
.  We  had  no  more  Court  in  this  County,  according  to  the 


14  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE 

records  of  the  Circuit  Court,  until  a  year  afterwards.  That  was 
in  May,  1827,  and  at  that  time  the  Circuit  Court  records  show  the 
term  to  have  been  held  at  the  house  of  Asa  Elliot.  Previous  to 
that  there  had  been  meetings  of  the  citizens  at  the  house,  I  suppose, 
of  Mr.  Butler,  that  stood  on  the  north  side  of  the  road,  but  his  was 
not  the  first  one  built  in  the  County. 

The  first  settlement  of  the  County,  as  near  as  I  have  been 
able  to  ascertain,  was  in  1819,  at  the  Salt  Works.  At  that  time 
George  Beckwith,  Francis  Whitcomb,  Seymour  Treat  and  the 
two  Blackmails,  in  the  mouth  of  October,  1819,  came  to  these 
salt  licks.  Treat  went  home  to  Fort  Harrison — as  the  settlement 
just  north  of  Terre  Haute  was  then  called — and  brought  his. 
wife  and  children  up  the  Wabash  and  Vermilion  in  a  canoe.  I 
believe  that  was  the  first  family  in  the  County,  unless  there  were 
settlements  over  in  what  was  until  lately  called  "Harrison's  Pur- 
chase," before  either  of  these  dates.  However,  as  to  that  I  have 
never  been  able  to  ascertain. 

Those  of  you  who  have  looked  on  the  maps  of  Vermilion 
County  will  remember  down  in  the  south  end  of  the  County  there 
is  a  little  wedge  shaped  diagram,  on  the  map,  which  extends  down 
into  Edgar  County,  where  it  loses  itself,  after  crossing  the  Wabash. 
That  was  the  northwest  corner  of  what  was  called  "  Harrison's 
Purchase,"  because  General  Harrison,  as  Governor  of  the  Indiana 
Territory,  of  which  Illinois  at  that  time  formed  a  part,  made  a 
large  purchase  of  laud  of  the  Indians,  extending  down  through 
Indiana  clear  to  the  Ohio  River.  In  running  its  eastward  boundary 
in  this  direction  they  run  a  line,  at  a  certain  angle,  called  by  the 
Indians  a  line  of  10  o'clock,  because  at  that  hour  of  the  day  the 
sun  was  in  that  direction,  passing  through  into  what  is  now  the 
south  part  of  Vermilion  County,  and  running  west  on  a  line  where 
the  sun  would  stand  at  1  o'clock,  which  is  called  the  1  o'clock  line. 
Portions  of  that  purchase  were  surveyed  prior  to  the  War  of  1812. 
That  war  came  on,  and  of  course  interrupted  all  progress  in  this 
section  of  the  country. 

The  surveys  of  the  purchase  were  not  begun  in  the  vicinity 

of  Terre   Haute,   northward,   until  1816,  when   they  were    again 

resumed.     A  portion  of  this    purchase  is    in  Edgar  County,  and 

*  known  as  the  "  North  Arm  Prairie."     There  was  a  settlement  on 


OLD   SETTLERS     MEETING.  15 

the  Xorth  Arm  Prairie  as  early  as  1816,  by  Jonathan  Mayo  and 
wife.  The  old  gentleman  died  only  some  irtonths  since.  The  wife 
still  survives  him.  The  two  Beckwith  brothers  came  from  West- 
ern Xew  York  down  the  Allegheny  and  Ohio  Rivers  and  up  the 
Wabash,  and  spent  a  year,  nearly,  at  Fort  Harrison,  and  then,  in 
1817,  they  came  over  on  the  Xorth  Arm  Prairie,  and  from  there 
the  elder  brother  of  the  two,  Dan.,  came  up  on  the  Vermilion 
River  in  1818  and  opened  an  Indian  store  in  the  side  hill  of  the 
Xorth  Fork,  at  Denmark. 

In  1809  all  that  part  of  Vermilion  County  that  lies  on  the 
south  of  the  Vermilion  River,  twenty  miles  from  its  mouth,  was 
ceded  by  the  Kickapoo  Indians  to  the  United  States ;  and  in  1818, 
at  the  treaty  of  St.  Marys,  in  Ohio,  the  Potowatamie  Indians  ceded 
all  the  territory  on  the  Wabash  River  to  the  mouth  of  the  Tippe- 
canoe  River,  and  up  the  Tippecanoe  River  twenty -five  miles,  and 
thence  from  a  line  drawn  on  the  Tippecanoe  River  across  to  a  point 
on  the  Vermilion  River.  The  surveys  of  this  County  north  of  the 
Vermilion  River  were  not  run  out  until  1822.  But  as  soon  as 
those  Indian  titles  were  extinguished,  and  the  war,  or  rather  the 
effects  of  the  War  of  1812  had  subsided,  so  that  people 
could  come  with  reasonable  safety,  they  overspread  this  County 
in  advance  of  the  surveyors,  and  before  the  land  was 
in  market  and  made  their  claims  and  held  them  until  the  lands 
were  surveyed  and  ready  for  sale,  when  they  got  their  titles. 
That  is  an  illustration  of  squatter  sovereignty,  that  took  place  in 
Vermilion  County  long  enough  before  the  idea  was  thought  of  in 
the  Kansas  and  Nebraska  bill,  for  the  territory  west  of  the 
Missouri. 

In  regard  to  the  Butler  house.  That  building  stood  out  there 
(indicating)  for  a  great  many  years,  as  I  understand.  It  was  torn 
down  and  taken  out  to  the  Sandusky  farm,  at  the  Big  Spring, 
where  it  served  various  purposes  for  a  number  of  years.  A  very 
few  years  ago  it  was  bought  by  the  Danville  Lumber  Company. 
They  had  it  sawed  up  into  walnut  lumber,  and  it  made  a  very  fine 
quality  of  lumber.  Here  is  a  piece  of  it  that  was  presented  to  me 
the  other  day  (showing  stick  to  audience).  I  understand  that  a 
desk  has  been  made  lately  from  that  lumber  and  is  now  in  the 
County  Court  room.  It  has  been  made  recently. 


16  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE 


Then  there  has  been  error  with  respect  to  the  relation  AVr- 
miliou  County,  as. a  County,  sustained  at  one  time  to  Cook  County 
and  Chicago.  It  has  been  said,  and  I  have  no  doubt  truthfully, 
that  at  one  time  when  Mr.  Reed  was  Sheriff  here,  that  rather  than 
go  to  Chicago  and  collect  the  little  taxes  due  from  there,  paid  them 
out  of  his  own  pocket.  And  that  on  another  occasion  Uncle 
Harvey  Luddington  was  going  to  Chicago  on  business,  and  Mr. 
Reed  gave  him  the  tax-list  to  collect,  and  when  he  was  at  Chicago 
he  collected  the  taxes,  and  the  whole  amount  of  taxes  from  Chicago 
at  that  time  amounted  to  something  less  than  five  dollars. 

I  have  very  oiten  interviewed  Mr.  Luddington  and  Ilezekiah 
Cunningham,  knowing  them  very  well,  and  both  of  them  died 
believing  they  were  right  and  that  I  was  wrong,  in  holding  that 
Chicago  was  never  in  Vermilion  County,  or  that  Cook  County 
formed  any  part  of  Vermilion  County.  Vermilion  County  was 
formed  off  from  Edgar;  and  Edgar  was  organized  in  1823  off  of 
Clark  County,  and  at  the  time  of  the  organization  of  Edgar  County 
its  territorial  limits  extended  to  Wisconsin.  During  that  time  Mr. 
Luddington  was  living  over  on  what  was  then  called  Luddington's 
Branch  and  is  now  called  Stoney  Creek,  and  Mr.  Reed  was  Sheriff, 
living  at  Paris,  and  I  have  no  doubt  he  paid  the  money  and  that 
Mr.  Luddington  collected  the  money,  but  it  w*as  at  a  time  when 
this  section  of  country,  through  here,  along  with  Cook  County, 
formed  a  part  of  Edgar  County. 

I  had  a  correspondence  some  years  ago  with  the  Honorable 
John  Wentworth,  of  Chicago,  in  which  he  very  badly  worsted  me 
by  my  depending  upon  the  recollection  of  old  settlers,  when  he  had 
the  records  of  Springfield  and  the  laws  of  the  State  to  back  him, 
and  I  had,  of  course,  to  give  way. 

The  facts  are,  that  in  1825  Peoria  County  was  formed  off  of 
Pike,  and  all  the  territory  tlv.it  lav  on  the  north  side  of  the  Kan- 
kakee  River  and  the  Illinois  River  was  detached  from  Edgar 
County  and  made  a  part  of  Peoria  Countv  ;  and  then  in  1826  Ver- 
milion Countv  was  organized,  and  her  territorial  limits  were 
bounded  by  the  Kankakee  River  on  the  north;  and  two  years 
after  that  Cook  Countv  was  organized  off  of  Peoria  Countv,  so  it 
is  utterly  impossible  that  Cook  County  or  Chicago  ever  could  have 
been  in  Vermilion  County.  But  it  is  true,  nevertheless,  that  one 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING.  17 

time  all  of  Cook  County,  and  all  of  the  country  between  Cook 
County  and  the  south  line  of  Edgar  County,  were  all  in  one  com- 
mon County  by  the  name  of  Edgar. 

There  was  a  rapidity  with  which  the  border  men  overrun  this 
country,  that,  in  the  course  of  a  very  few  years,  County  after  County 
was  organized,  and  society  was  everywhere  forming  itself  into 
definite  shape.  That  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  periods  of  the 
State  of  Illinois — the  incoming  of  the  settlers,  like  swarms  of  bees 
that  had  left  the ,  parent  hives,  were  gathering  at  centers,  as  at  this 
point,  to  start  new  colonies. 

In  this  connection,  it  was  the  fashion  of  the  Legislature  to 
require  somebody  to  give  laud  on  which  to  make  the  County  Seat, 
and  that  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  land  should  go  towards 
building  the  Court  House  and  the  Jail,  and  Vermilion  County 
was  not  an  exception  to  this  rule.  I  find  in  much  of  the  legislation 
of  those  times,  in  examining  them  in  the  archives  at  Springfield, 
that  they  would  appoint  Commissioners  and  authorize  them  to  locate 
a  site  for  a  new  County  Seat  at  such  place  as  was  suitable,  pro- 
vided the  parties  owning  the  laud  would  donate  a  certain  quantity 
for  this  particular  purpose.  There  was  some  contest  in  this 
County,  as  in  many  others,  as  to  where  the  County  Seat  should  be. 

The  first  Commissioners  located  it  south  of  the  Salt  Works 
on  the  prairie.  That  gave  very  great  dissatisfaction,  as  appears 
from  remonstrances  and  protests  that  were  sent  to  Vandalia,  and 
from  those  lists  I  have  a  large  number  of  names  of  early  settlers. 
A  new  set  of  Commissioners  were  appointed,  and  Guy  Smith, 
Receiver  of  Public  Moneys  for  this  land  district,  located  at  that 
time  at  Palestine,  and  Dan  Beckwith  gave  forty  acres  apiece,  where 
Danville  is  now  located,  to  the  County,  and  gave  bond  that  they 
would  make  a  deed  to  it  if  the  Commissioners  would  locate  the 
County  Seat  upon  the  donation.  The  Commissioners  did  locate 
the  County  Seat  there  and  a  deed  was  made  to  the  County,  and 
then  it  was  the  County  that  made  the  town.  Danville  was  located 
and  laid  out  by  Vermilion  County,  through  the  act  of  its  three 
County  Commissioners,  and  the  lots  were  sold,  bringing  some 
eight  or  nine  hundred  dollars.  The  average  price  of  the  lots  was 
twenty-two  dollars. 

The  survey  was   made  in    1828,  and  was  certified    to  by  the 


18  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE 


County  Commissioners — that  is  the  second  survey,  there  being  two 
surveys  of  the  County  Seat — and  they  are  both  <>n  record.  By  the 
original  survey,  Main  street  was  only  three  rods  wide.  It  was  under 
that  lay  out  or  plat  that  the  lots  were  sold,  and  then  the  following 
October  it  was  re-surveyed  and  re-platted  and  re-recorded.  Some 
twenty  years  ago,  perhaps,  Reverend  Father  Enoch  Kingsbury 
came  into  my  office  and  gave  me  the  original  plat.  He  had  it  a 
great  many  years  before  for  some  purpose,  and  it  was  thrown  up 
in  a  loft  and  fogotten,  and  on  going  over  his  old  manuscripts  and 
papers  one  day  he  found  the  map  and  brought  it  to  me.  1  have  it 
here,  and  those  of  you  who  are  curious  can  see  it,  and  see  that 
Danville  is  the  bantling  of  Vermilion  County  and  that  Vermilion 
County  is  responsible  for  its  good  behavior.  I  have  kept  this  map 
for  a  long  time,  and  I  had  a  hope  that  there  might  be  an  old 
settlers'  meeting  or  society  organized  that  I  might  present  it  to. 

There  is  one  other  thought  that  I  will  dwell  upon  and  then  I 
have  said  all  that  is  perhaps  necessary  for  me  to  say  to-day.  This 
section  of  country  here  occupies  an  importance  in  the  history  of 
the  old  Northwest  that  makes  it  deserve  one  of  the  best  historical 
societies  in  the  State.  However  new  Vermilion  County  may  have 
been,  and  was  to  the  first  white  people  who  came  into  it,  it  was  a 
very  old  country.  It  was  so  old  that  it  had  belonged  almost  a 
hundred  years,  prior  to  1763,  to  France.  A  part  of  our  County, 
by  a  singular  division  of  boundary  lines,  including  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Michigan,  Wisconsin  and  Illinois,  was  divided  by  the  French 
Government  into  two  immense  districts.  One  of  these  was  gov- 
erned from  Quebec,  and  the  other  from  New  Orleans.  The  name 
of  the  principal  river  of  your  County  is  over  ^00  years  old.  The 
country  was  traversed  by  traders  and  by  missionaries  before  the 
grandfathers  and  grandmothers  of  its  earliest  white  settlers  were 
born.  And  singular  as  it  may  seem,  it  is  easier  to  trace  the  opera- 
tions of  the  French  people  in  this  section  150  years  ago,  than  it  is 
to  gather  up  the  scattered  fragments  that  have  been  left  by  the 
white  people  who  have  come  in  since  1828. 

The  red  man  who  dominated  this  country  and  with  whom  the 
French  affiliated  and  the  authorities  of  Great  Britain  warred  upon 
after  they  took  it  from  France  in  1763;  the  descendants  of  the 
same  Indians  whom  white  people  had  to  contend  against,  had  their 


OLD   SETTLERS*    MEETING.  19 


principal  villages  and  their  most  populous  towns,  and  some  of  them 
within  the  limits  of  this  County.  Tin  first  treaty  that  the  Indians 
of  Illinois  and  the  Wabash  country  ever  had  with  the  United 
States,  was  at  Vincennes,  in  1792,  in  September,  at  which  they 
agreed  that  they  would  not  send  out  horse  thieving  and  murdering 
raids  against  the  border  settlers  then  in  Kentucky,  Eastern  Ohio, 
Western  Pennsylvania  and  Western  Virginia,  because  they  made 
up  many  of  their  war  parties  from  this  region,  and  went  as  far  as 
Pennsylvania  and  Kentucky  to  commit  their  mischief.  At  Vin- 
cennes they  agreed  they  would  do  these  things  no  more. 

Among  the  principal  Chiefs  at  that  city  was  a  noted  Kickapoo, 
whose  Indian  name  was  Nemika.  He  had  formerly  been  a  subject 
of  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  and  held  his  British  father  in  great 
respect.  His  village  was  near  the  mouth  of  the  Middle  Fork,  a 
noted  Indian  village  and  hive  from  which  these  hornets  would 
also  swarm  out  upon  the  white  people,  over  on  the  Mississippi 
River  in  the  neighborhood  of  Kaskaskia  and  Kahokia,  and  they 
were  exceedingly  annoying  to  those  neighborhoods.  In  honor  of 
the  man,  General  Putnam,  who  made  the  treaty  of  1792,  on  the 
part  of  the  United  States,  gave  this  Chief  a  silver  medal.  He  had, 
at  the  same  time,  around  his  neck  a  medal  that  had  been  presented 
to  him  by  some  officer  who  represented  the  British  Government. 
He  died  and  was  buried  at  the  old  Kickapoo  graveyard.  Some 
years  ago,  the  bluff  having  washed  away  by  the  encroachments  of 
the  Middle  Fork  at  this  place,  his  skull  was  found  with  the  beads 
about  his  head,  and  the  medals  were  found  in  his  grave.  I  have 
them  with  me  and  will  show  them  to  you.  [The  speaker  exhibited 
the  medals  to  the  audience].  There  is  the  silver  medal  with  the 
curator  of  the  British  Museum,  at  London,  which  perhaps  has  the 
finest  collection  of  books  and  curiosities  in  the  world,  and  to  whom 
I  sent  a  photograph  copy  of  that  medal,  asking  him  if  he  knew 
when  it  -was  struck.  I  also  sent  a  copy  by  Mr.  Vandersteen  on 
the  occasion  of  one  of  his  trips  to  England.  There  is  one  like 
that  in  the  British  Museum,  struck  after  the  year  1780 — -just  how 
long  after  we  .don't  know.  One  side  shows  a  medallion  of  King 
George  III.,  who  was  our  sovereign  for  a  great  many  years.  On 
the  other  side  is  the  British  coat  of  arms. 

This  medal  [exhibiting  another  medal  to  the  audience],  was 


20  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE 


presented  to  Nemika  by  General  Putnam.  On  one  side  is  George 
Washington,  and  an  Indian,  who  has  thrown  his  tomahawk  down 
at  the  root  of  a  tree,  extending  his  pipe  of  peace  to  Washington  to 
smoke;  and  behind,  in  the  distance,  is  a  pioneer  with  his  oxen, 
plowing,  and  a  cabin.  .  It  all  means  peace  to  the  white  man,  and 
that  he  can  go  on  with  his  work.  These  medals  were  dug  up  in 
your  own  County.  The  British  medal  is  pure  silver,  struck  with 
a  die.  It  is  worth,  I  suppose,  about  sixteen  dollars,  as  old  silver. 
The  Washington  medal  is  hand  carved,  and  a  good  many  were 
given  out.  I  have  the  record  of  General  Putnam's  private  manu- 
script. I  sent  to  Ohio  and  got  it,  in  regard  to  that  treaty.  I  have  a 
copy  of  the  speech  General  Putnam  made  when  he  gave  the  medal 
to  the  Indian,  and  explained  to  his  tribe  what  the  eagle  meant. 

So  there  seems  to  be  no  great  difficulty,  after  you  get  back 
beyond  a  certain  time,  in  tracing  the  history  of  this  County.  There 
is  a  gap  between  the  two  periods  which,  niy  friends,  is  within 
the  reach  of  an  old  settlers'  organization  to  fill.  It  is  that  missing 
link  in  our  history  that  devolves  upon  us  as  a  duty  to  supply,  if 
we  can. 

There  is  a  historical  point,  perhaps,  about  which  I  have 
given  as  much  thought  as  almost  anything  else,  and  which 
almost  all  of  the  ministers  of  Danville  and  elsewhere  in  the 
County  have  undertaken  to  master.  I  refer  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Methodist  Church.  They  have  come  to  me  for  my 
books  relating  to  the  history  of  the  early  Methodist  Church 
in  this  section  of  the  country;  the  early  itinerant  preachers,  men 
who  worked,  those  days,  in  the  field  and  went  about  the  country 
doing  good,  preaching  the  gospel,  organizing  churches,  without 
money  and  without  price.  I  remember  the  faces  of  many  grand 
and  godly  men,  and  it  has  been  a,  matter  of  sincere  regret  with  me 
that  I  never  interviewed  some  of  them  while  living,  to  know  where 
it  was  the  Methodist  Church  began  in  this  County,  and  who  were 
its  itinerant  preachers.  Father  Helmick,  here  at  my  side,  is  one 
of  the  relics  of  that  band  of  brothers.  Mr.  Fairchilds — Uncle 
Daniel — was  another. 

This  country  was  undertaken  to  be  settled  by  three  classes 
of  people — the  Spaniard,  the  Gaul  and  the  Englishman.  The 
Spaniard  got  his  hold  upon  the  North  American  continent  prior  to 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING.  21 


the  year  1600,  in  what  is  now  Florida,  Georgia,  Mississippi  and 
Mexico.  The  Frenchman  first  secured  lodgment  in  Canada,  at 
Quebec  and  Montreal,  then  at  Detroit,  Peoria,  Vincennes  and  Kas- 
kaskia.  The  Englishman  landed  in  Virginia  and  at  Plymouth 
Rock.  » 

There  is  nothing  left  of  the  Spanish  possessions  east  of  the 
Mississippi  that  is  worth  historical  perpetuation.  There  remains 
only  a  reminiscence  of  the  attempt  of  France  to  colonize,  at  Green 
Bay,  Vincennes  and  Kaskaskia — monuments  of  a  decayed  Empire. 
A  little  of  the  language  and  some  of  the  customs  are  yet  left  in 
Canada. 

The  Anglo  Saxon,  like  a  wedge,  entering  at  Plymouth  Rock 
and  Jamestown,  has  pushed  these  other  two  colonizations  to  tlie 
right  and  to  the  left,  and  will  ultimately  dominate  this  whole 
country — the  whole  North  American  continent.  God  grant  the 
time  may  come  when,  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  ours  may  be 
the  largest  and  the  best.  We  who  are  here  to-day  are  made  up  of 
the  Norman,  of  the  Angli,  the  Saxon,  the  ancient  Briton  and 
the  Celt,  in  whom  the  principle  of  liberty  and  justice  have  been 
exemplified  for  generations — a  race  of  mixed  blood,  the  best  of 
Europe,  that  has  colonized  not  only  this  country,  but  Australia, 
Africa  and  India,  and  dominated  the  world.  The  language  of  this 
race  will  be  the  language  of  all  others ;  and  our  laws  and  principles 
of  individual  and  national  liberty  will  survive  after  Governments 
like  that  of  Spain  and  France  shall  have  perished.  [Applause.] 

Music  by  the  Catlin  Baud. 

All  Old  Settlers  were  invited  by  the  President  to  register 
their  names  in  a  book  provided  by  the  Association,  and  in  the 
hands  of  the  Secretary. 


22  PROCEEDINGS    OP  THE 


REGISTER  OF  THE  OLD  SETTLERS 

ATCATLIN,  ILL.   SEPTEMBER  .'6,  1885. 


NAME.  AGE.         P.  O.  ADDRESS.       £r,m°  NATIVITY. 

Jacob  H.  Oakwood  ...56...Cat1in,  111 1833. ..Brown  Co.,  Ohio. 

AbnerSnow 56...Fairmount,  111 1828. ..Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

C.  T.  Caraway 46..-Catlin,  111 1838-. .Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

Wm.  McBroom 7i...Fairmount,  111 i854.--Crawfordsville,  Ind. 

B.  C.  Pate 49...Catlin,  111 1836. ..Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

Thos.  Brady 53...Catlin,  111 1832-. -Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

John   Allen 72-..Fairmount,  111 1839... Fay ette  Co.,  Ohio. 

James  Sandusky 67-..Westville,  111 1827. ..Bourbon  Co.,  Ky. 

A.  G.  Payne 47-..Catlin,  111 .• 1838-. .Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

G.  W.  Wolf. 53-..Catlin,  111 1834.. -Sullivan  Co.,  Tenn. 

John  M.  Doran 62--. Oakwood,  111 1838. ..Hardy  Co.,  Va. 

Adam  Neir 58.--Catlin,  111 i829-..Piqua  Co.,  Ohio. 

A.  A.  Hartley 54...CatIin,  111 i832-..Vermiliooi  Co.,  111. 

E.  Burroughs 70-- -Danville,  111 1842. ..Dearborn  Co.,  Ind. 

J.  VV.  Mires 64. ..Danville,  111 1841.. .Muskingum  Co.,  Ohio. 

D.  B.  Douglas sS-.-Catlin,  111 1827. ..Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

J.  M.  Douglas 62.-.Catlin,  111 1830... Dearborn  Co.,  Ind. 

Jesse  Davis jg-.-Catlin,  111...! i833--.Piqua  Co.,  Ohio. 

W.  W.  Love 44-.-Catlin,  111 1841... Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

M.  Lawrence 67. ..Ridge  Farm,  111 1827. -Jefferson  Co.,  Tenn. 

S.  W.  Barker 7o...Fairmount,  111 1851. ..Hardy  Co.,  YV.  Va. 

D.  G.  Locket 64-..Westville,   111 i836..-Wythe  Co.,  Va. 

Henry  Sallee ..75...Muncie,  111 1834. ..Bracken  Co.,  Ky. 

• 

George  Dillon 49. ..Danville,  111 1837. ..Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

Levi  Long 75. ..Georgetown,    111 1830... Nicholas  Co.,  Ky. 

David  McDonald 55-..Catlin,  111 1853--. Mason  Co.,  Ky. 

Jesse  Doney 66...Fairmqunt,  111 i845-..Hendricks  Co.,  Ind. 

YV.  R.  Timmons 54..-Catlin,  111 1855-. -Carroll  Co.,  Ind. 

N.  E.  Hubbard 71... Georgetown,  111 1820... Sheffield  Co.,  Mass. 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING.  23 


OLD  SETTLERS'  REGISTER— CONTINUED. 

NAME.  AGE.          P.  O.  ADDRESS.       county"  NATIVITY. 

A.  H.  Dougherty 8o...Fairmount,  111 1832. ..Brown  Co.,  Ohio. 

Mary  A.  Dougherty... 62. ..Fairmount,  111 1855. ..Brownsville,  Pa. 

L.  N.  Pate 67-..Catlin,  111 1829. -.Dearborn  Co.,  Ind. 

W.  M.  Payne 77. ..Danville,  111 1830... Orange  Co.,  N.  Y. 

Eli  Helmick 83-. -Pilot,  111 1833. ..Randolph  Co.,  Va. 

W.  A.  Church 52...Catlin,  111 1833. ..Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

G.  A.  Fox ..62-.-Oakwood,  111 1853-. .Green  Co.,  Penn. 

G.  F.  Hilliary 45-..Blount,  111 1840. ..Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

J.  W.  Newlon 45-..Catlin,  111 1840. ..Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

James  Niccum 79...Westville,   111 i824...Trumbull  Co.,  Ohio. 

Isaac  Simpson 64. ..Fairmount,  111 1847. ..Fountain  Co.,  Ind. 

R.  C.  Hickman 60. ..Fairmount,  111 1831. ..Brown  Co.,  Ohio. 

J.  M.  Dougherty 56. ..Fairmount,  111 1833. ..Brown  Co.,  Ohio. 

Wm.  B.  Squires 56-. .Homer,  111 1830. ..Clark  Co.,  Ohio. 

Wm.  Smith 58. ..Homer,  111 1829. ..Clark  Co.,  Ohio. 

H:  W.  Beckwith 52. ..Danville,  111 1833. ..Danville,  111. 

Geo.  Olmstead 44. ..Danville,  111 1841. ..Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

Philip  Puzey 53. ..Danville,  111 1849. ..Berkshire  Co.,  Eng. 

Clara  Douglas 57...Catlin,  111 1830. ..Rising  Sun,  Ind. 

Jas.  Davis 58. ..Homer,  111 1837. ..Guernsey  Co.,  Ohio. 

S.  T.  Ellsworth 68...Westville,  111 1840.. -Shelby  Co.,  Ohio. 

S.  W.  Black 56...Westville,  111 1831-. .Bourbon  Co.,  Ky. 

Zarilda  Ellsworth 63...Westville,  111 1828.. -Bourbon  Co.,  Ky. 

Ann   Black 8i-.-Westville,  111 1831. ..Bourbon  Co.,  Ky. 

Margaret   Graves 9O-..Westville,  111 1828. .-Bourbon  Co.,  Ky. 

J.  E.  Busby 58-.-Catlin,  111 1851. .-Madison  Co.,  Ind. 

Susan    Busby 57-..Catlin,  111 1851... Howard  Co.,  Ind. 

M.  A.  Cass 33-.-Catlin,  111 1852  --Vermilion  Co.,  III. 

Mary   Busby 3o..-Catlin,  111 1855. .-Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

Perry  O'Neal 60-. .Grape  Creek,  111 1825. .-Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

James  O'Neal 63-..Westville,  111 1822. ..Vermilion  Co.,  111. 


24  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE 


OLD  SETTLERS'  REGISTER— CONTINUED. 


NAME.  AGE.         P.  O.  ADDRESS.      cZty10  NATIVITY. 

Fred  Tarrant 6i...Catlin,.Ill 1853... Berkshire,  Eng. 

Richard  Puzey S8...Catlin,  111 1847... Berkshire,  Eng. 

John   Finley 77...DanviHe,  111 i834---Ripley  Co.,  Ind. 

Charles   Snider 42. ..Danville,   111 1843. .-Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

J.  P.  Morrison 67. ..Homer,   111 1850... Fay ette  Co.,  Ohio. 

W.  D.  Parker 38...Westville,   111 1847. ..Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

Mary  Truax 49-..Oakwood,  111 1835. ..Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

Margaret  A.  Helmick  33. ..Pilot,  111 1852. .-Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

Emeline  Pate 6o...Catlin,  111 1825.. -Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

E.  P.  Boggess 48...Catlin,  111 1837.-- Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

J.  W.  Reynolds  50. ..Newton,   Iowa 1835. ..Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

Mary  Reynolds 42. .-Newton,   Iowa 1843  -.Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

Esther  Finley 79. ..Danville,  111 1830. ..Orange  Co.,  N.  Y. 

Mary  Taylor 37...Catlin,  111 1848. ..Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

t 
Evaline  Seymour 69.--Oakwood,  111 1853-. .Montgomery  Co.,  Ind. 

Frank  Hushaw 39...Rossville,  111 1853--. Montgomery  Co.,  Ind. 

Sarepta  Dougherty...^...  Fairmount,  111  i852...Tippecanoe  Co.,  Ind. 

Rosana  G.  Locket 63-.-Catlin,  111 1833  ..Bourbon  Co.,  Ky. 

Jane   Caraway 4i---Catlin,  111 1853. .-Ohio  Co.,  Ind. 

Lizzie  Newlon 4o...Catlin,  111 i853---Tippecanoe  Co.,  Ind. 

Elvessa  Acre 79...Catlin,  111 1835-. .Shelby  Co.,  Ky. 

Thomas  Dale 4o--.Catlin,  111 1854. ..New  York  City. 

Joseph  D.  Wherry 68--.Catlin,  111 1855... Mason  Co.,  Ky. 

John  B.  Coolley 44-..Catlin,  111 1841... Vermilion  Co.,  111. 

G.  W.  F.  Church 55...Catlin,  111 1854. .-London,  England. 

Ivea  Taylor 78...Catlin,  111 i853-..Tippecanoe  Co.,  Ind. 

Alex.  Church 83-..Catlin,  111 1830  ..Greenbrier  Co.,  Va. 

Jas.  A.  Davis 75. .-Danville,  111 1832... Savannah,  Georgia. 

Isaac  N.  Outten 67. ..Danville,   111 i848-.-Circleville,  Ohio. 

Samuel  Frazier. ...:.. ..80. ..Danville,  111 1833... Dearborn  Co.,  Ind. 

Andrew  Gundy... 56---Bismark,    111 1829. .-Vermilion  Co.,  111. 


OLD   SETTLERS1    MEETING.  25 


Recess  until  1  o'clock  P.  M. 

The  afternoon  session  was  begun  at  1  o'clock  P.  M.,  by  a  song 
from  Capt.  A.  G.  PAYNE,  entitled  "  Twenty  Years  Ago." 

Upon  invitation  of  the  President,  ALEX.  DOUGHERTY  spoke 
as  follows : 

"  When  I  get  up  to  talk  at  such  a  place  as  this,  I  am  a  good 
deal  like  the  man  was  when  they  wanted  to  know  why  he  did  not 
dance.  He  said  he  could  not  see  any  place  to  begin,  and  that  is 
the  way  with  me.  I  guess  I  will  begin  by  giving  a  history  of  my 
ancestors. 

"  My  father  was  a  native  of  Maryland.  He  was  tending  bar 
in  Annapolis,  Maryland,  for  his  father,  where  he  was  keeping 
tavern,  when  the  French  army  marched  through  there  to  join 
Washington.  My  father  was  about  sixteen  years  of  age  when  he 
emigrated  to  Pennsylvania,  and  in  about  1795  he  moved  to  Ken- 
tucky and  stayed  one  year,  and  then  passed  over  on  the  Ohio  side 
of  the  river  and  settled.  In  1805  1  was  born.  In  1832,  with 
my  father  and  my  own  family,  I  emigrated  to  this  County.  I 
have  been  a  citizen  of  this  County  fifty-three  years.  My  mother 
was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania. 

"  When  we  first  came  to  this  country  everything  was  con- 
sidered wild  and  new.  People  lived  mainly  in  split  log  cabins, 
dirt  back-walls  and  jams,  and  clapboard  doors.  We  stopped  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Dallas,  and  stayed  there  from  September  to 
February,  then  I  moved  to  near  where  Fairmount  now  is,  and 
have  resided  there  ever  since.  When  I  came  to  this  country  every- 
thing was  very  different  from  what  it  is  now." 

Esq.  WM.  M.  PAYNE  sang  "  Near  Dublin  Town  "  with  good 
effect.  Mrs.  FINLEY  joined  in  singing  the  latter  part  of  this 
amusing  song,  and  at  the  close  remarked:  "  They  say  old  fools 
are  the  worst  fools."  (Applause). 

Esq.  PAYNE  said:  "I  came  in  here  in  1830,  on  the  17th 
day  of  April.  This  prairie  then  had  no  improvements  between 
here  and  lTrl>ana,  except  here  at  Butler's  Point;  and  no  improve- 
ments from  Danville  to  Georgetown  till  you  got  to  Georgetown. 


I'Lt()CKKl)IN(iS     OF    TIIK 


"  We  used  to  have  wolf  hunts  in  those  days  ;  would  send  out 
notice  to  different  parts«of  the  timber,  and  would  stick  a  pole  up 
at  Blue  Mound  with  a  flag  upon  it,  and  every  man  would  turn  out 
and  drive  to  that  pole.  We  would  kill,  sometimes,  ten  or  fifteen  at 
a  time.  All  those  things  have  passed  away.  I  am  not  in  the  habit. 
of  speaking,  but  I  will  sing  you  now  a  song  that  is  sentimental." 

The  President:     Let  us  have  it. 

Esq.  PAYNE  sang  a  song,  entitled  "  Let  Us  Drive  Dull  Care 
Away." 

The  glee  club  sang  the  song,  "  Forty  Years  Ago." 

JOHN  W.  MLRES,  upon  invitation  of  the  President,  said  : 

"Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  When  I  started  to 
attend  this  gathering  of  old  people  to-day,  I  didn't  expect  to  be 
called  upon  to  make  a  speech.  I  am  glad  to  meet  so  many  of  my 
old  fellow  citizens  of  Vermilion  County.  I  can  appreciate  their 
worth  and  the  benefits  they  have  been  to  the  County.  They  have 
marked  the  way  for  the  young  people,  and  have  made  this  country 
a  fit  place  to  dwell.  They  will  be  among  us  but  a  few  short  years 
yet  at  most.  But  we  should  respect  those  old  gray  hairs  —  their 
work  is  done. 

"To  give  you  a  history  of  Vermilion  County  and  her  growth 
and  prosperity,  would  take  more  time  than  is  allotted  to  me  this 
afternoon.  I  came  into  Vermilion  County  in  1841,  a  mere  boy, 
and  have  grown  to  be  a  man  among  you.  I  have  done  my  part. 
How  well  I  have  done  that,  is  for  you.  old  gray  headed  men  to  say. 
I  have  helped  you,  and  you  have  helped  me  to  make  Vermilion 
County  what  she  is  to-day. 

"  Thirty-five  years  ago  I  passed  along  this  road  carrying  the 
revenue  of  Vermilion  County  to  the  City  of  Springfield.  I  was 
then  your  County  Treasurer.  The  revenue  of  Vermilion  County 
then  for  State,  County  and  .school  purposes,  only  amounted  to  not 
quite  $18,000.  The  taxes  for  County  and  school  purposes  at  that 
time  only  amounted  to  a  little  over  $2,000.  Now  our  taxes  seem 
to  be  enormous,  but  when  we  compare  them  with  the  wealth  and 
prosperity  of  the  County,  they  are  small  in  comparison  with  other 
communities.  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  thank  you." 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING. 


ISAAC  SIMPSON,  being  called  upon,  said  : 

"Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I've  not  much  to  offer.  I  can  only 
say  to  you  I  have  been  in  the  County  for  a  good  long  while.  My 
father  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Fountain  County,  Indiana, 
where  Covington  now  is.  There  were  only  three  besides  him 
when  he  settled  there.  I  have  lived  within  thirty  miles  of  this 
place  for  sixty-four  years.  I  came  to  Danville  the  19th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1847,  and  have  been  a  citizen  ever  since.  There  is  a  very 
great  change,  and  there  has  been  a  wonderful  growth  since  I  settled 
here. 

"In  1844  I  crossed  this  State  with  an  ox  team  on  my  way  to 
Missouri,  and  I  took  a  liking  to  Danville  when  I  passed  through 
in  1844,  and  traveled  back  and  settled  in  1847.  You  all  know 
what  I  have  been  ever  since.  I  have  lived  among  you  from  that 
time  to  this." 

JAMES  DOUGHERTY,  of  Fairmount,  was  left  an  orphan  in 
childhood  and  came  to  this  State  to  his  grandfather,  near  Fair- 
mount.  He  gave  many  bits  of  history ;  he  said  the  ague  was  so 
prevalent  that  he  supposed  that  if  the  same  number  of  old  settlers 
had  been  together  the  26th  of  September,  1834,  there  would  have 
been  more  ague  shakes  than  there  have  been*  hand  shakes  here  to- 
day. His  first  business  transaction  was  to  beat  tanbark  for  50  cents 
a  day.  Once  his  grandfather  was  ill  and  wanted  some  sugar  and 
coffee  very  much,  and  asked  him  if  he  couldn't  take  the  oxen,  haul 
a  load  of  corn  to  Danville  and  get  some  coffee;  he  loaded  the  wagon 
with  twenty  bushels  of  corn  and  drew  it  to  Danville  with  three 
yoke  of  steers  he  had  broken.  In  all  Danville  he  could  find  but 
one  man  who  would  buy  the  corn ;  that  man  kept  a  store  and  would 
give  dry  goods  for  the  corn,  but  no  groceries.  He  took  about  all 
the  calico  remnants  about  the  store  and  yet  there  was  50  cents 
coming:  to  him  :  he  told  the  clerk  he  would  take  that  in  coffee.  The 

O  ' 

coffee  was  tied  up  and  he  started  out,  hoping,  after  all,  that  his 
grandfather  would  get  what  his  heart  longed  for,  but  just  as  he 
reached  the  door  the  storekeeper  saw  him  and  cried  out  sharply: 
"What  dat,  you  got  there?"  The  storekeeper  spoke  broken 
English.  I  said,  "A  little  coffee."  He  replied,  "  Take  it  back, 
take  it  back,  I  say."  I  took  it  back;  the  clerk  asked  me  what  I'd 


28  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE 


have,  and  I  told  him  I'd  take  another  rag ;  I  got  it  and  started 
home;  and  if  you'd  been  here  and  heard  me  passing  along  that 
road  about  midnight,  talking  English  to  the  oxen,  you  might  have 
thought  I  was  vexed.  'Mr.  Dougherty  resented  the  statement 
which  some  one  had  made  that  the  oldest  settler  was  the  biggest 
liar. 

NOAH  HUBBARD,  being  called  upon,  said: 

"  I  came  here  when  I  was  six  years  old.  My  father  brought 
me  here  at  least.  The  country  was  grown  up  with  plum  brush, 
and  hazel  brush,  and  sumach,  and  grapes,  and  prairie  grass.  I  am 
71  years  old  this  fall.  I  can't  talk  and  wish  to  be  excused." 

That  good  old  song,  "  How  Tedious  and  Tasteless  the  Hours," 
was  then  sung  by  Chairman  Oakwood,  G.  W.  Tiltou,  Lon  Payne, 
Capt.  Timmons,  George  Fox  and  Uriah  >  Winters,  who  first  ren- 
dered the  buckwheat  notes  from  the  "  Missouri  Harmony,"  and 
then  the  words,  in  which  "all  jined."  • 

DANIEL  LOCKETT  gave  a  sprightly  sketch  of  how  he  and  his 
wife  set  up  housekeeping  on  a  magnificent  style,  at  a  total  cost  of 
$14,  with  a  new  frying  pan,  skillet,  pot,  bedstead  and  chairs;  how 
they  were  happy  as  coons  and  grew  fat  on  it. 

LEVI  LONG  told  how  he  came  to  the  county  in  1830,  from 
Kentucky;  walked  and  drove  two  cows  for  his  brother-in-law. 
That  winter  the  snow  was  three  feet  deep ;  he  helped  his  brother- 
in-law  build  a  cabin,  went  over  near  Montezuma  and  cleared  5  acres 
of  land,  helped  raise  a  crop  next  summer,  then  went  back  to 
Kentucky  and  married,  in  1831,  and  returned  here  and  went  to 
housekeeping  with  a  box  for  a  table;  had  but  three  chairs,  without 
bottoms;  used  boards  for  bottoms  until  spring,  when  the  bark 
would  run,  and  then  put  bark  bottoms  in.  We  lived  happy  as 
coons.  He  told  of  the  hand-mills,  &c.,  &c. 

One  incident  is  this:  He  had  some  hogs  to  drive  to  Chicago, 
where  he  had  engaged  them  at  $2  net.  At  Denmark  a  man  came 
and  wanted  to  sell  him  forty  hogs ;  he  looked  at  the  lot  and  told  the 
man  he  had  thirty  good  ones,  and  he'd  give  him  $90  for  them  when 
he  returned  from  Chicago.  The  man  didn't  ask  me  my  name,  and  I 
didn't  ask  his.  He  told  me  to  take  the  hogs,  and  I  did  so.  I 
returned  to  Denmark  and  inquired  for  him,  found  him  in  a  store, 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING.  29 


gave  him  the  weights  of  the  hogs,  told  him  what  I  got  for  them  and 
paid  him  the  $90.  When  he  took  the  money  he  said,  "Well,  now,  I'd 
like  to  know  your  name."  I  told  him,  and  asked  his  name  and  he 
replied,  "McMillan."  Mr.  Long  made  a  good  talk;  said  he  had 
liked  this  county,  had  helped  to  make  it  what  it  is,  and  had  never 
felt  that  he  wanted  to  go  back  to  his  wife's  people.  He  settled 
two  miles  north  of  Georgetown,  near  the  old  Henry  Johnson  farm, 
on  which  he  now  lives.  His  neighbors  were  Absalom  Starr,  John 
Jordan,  John  Lyons,  and  others.  They  used  the  Carey  plow  with 
wooden  mould -board. 

HENRY  SALLEE  :  "  Came  to  this  State  in  1834,  have  not  much 
more  than  been  out  of  it  since.  Neighbors  Lockett  and  Long  have 
told  how  they  first  went  to  housekeeping.  Wife  and  I  moved 
into  our  house  the  day  after  it  was  raised;  it  had  no  floor;  I  laid 
the  sleepers  and  wife  laid  the  floor;  I  taught  school  by  day  ;  my 
wife  wove  and  I  filled  the  quills  for  her  at  night;  she  could  weave 
five  yards  a  day,  do  her  housework  and  take  care  of  our  one  child. 
Cooked  by  fireplace ;  made  a  trough  for  lard  out  of  a  tree,  also  a 
kneading  trough  or  tray  ;  made  a  table,  two  chairs  and  some  stools. 
Sold  hogs  in  Perrysville  at  $2  for  best,  and  $1.75  and  $1.50  for 
others.  Calico  was  12^  to  16  cents  per  yard;  coffee,  18  to  25 
cents,  and  tea  $2  for  best.  It  used  to  be  necessary  to  fight  fire, 
which  could  often  be  seefl  coming  across  the  prairies ;  the  neighbors 
would  join, 'move  along  the  cow  paths,  around  fields  and  back-fire; 
would  often  be  all  night  at  the  work. 

"  We  thought  we  were  doing  well,  and  the  people  were  as  well 
satisfied  as  now."  They  had  their  sorrows,  too ;  in  '53  his  daughter 
died ;  in  '59  his  wife  followed ;  he  had  since  married  another 
worthy  woman,  who  is  here  to-day. 

"  Come,  Thou  Fount  of  Every  Blessing"  was  then  sung,  notes 
and  words  as  in  ye  olden  times,  the  audience  jinin'  in  the  words. 

The  song,  "  Don't  be  in  a  Hurry  to  Go,"  was  sung  by  the  Glee 
Club ;  after  which  a  few  remarks  were  made  by  W.  R.  JEWELL, 
in  response  to  calls  from  the  audience. 

The  audience  then  dispersed  and  the  meeting  closed.  The  time 
and  place  of  next  meeting  to  be  fixed  by  Executive  Committee. 


30  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  J.  H.  OAKWOOD. 


"  My  father,  Henry  Oakwood,  with  a  family  of  nine  children, 
settled  in  this  County  in  the  fall  of  1833 ;'  and  although  then  quite 
young,  I  have  a  very  distinct  recollection  of  the  settlements  then 
made,  and  of  the  progress  of  settlements  afterward,  of  the  general 
appearance  of  the  country  at  that  time,  and  of  the  mode  of  living, 
and  customs  and  habits  of  the  people. 

"Coming  from  a  heavily  timbered  country,  as  all  early  settlers 
did,  the  vast  stretch  of  treeless  prairie  seemed  as  unbounded  as  the 
sky  above  our  heads.  Not  a  tree  nor  house  nor  fence  to  break  the 
monotony  of  the  vast  expanse.  The  gentle  swells  and  ridges  of 
the  prairie,  covered  with  its  mantle  of  green,  or  of  brown  grass, 
according  to  season ;  together  with  the  roving  herds  of  wild  deer, 
the  prowling  wolf,  the  vast  number  of  wild  geese,  ducks,  cranes, 
and  prairie  chickens,  and  the  troupe  of  the  no  less  wild  Indians  on 
horseback  and  on  foot,  was  all  there  was  to  break  the  monotony 
or  add  animation  to  the  scene. 

"  Those  of  a  meditative  disposition,  and  those  who  loved  to 
dwell  in  close  contact  with  nature  uncontaminated  with  the  vices 
and  follies  of  man,  here  found  a  paradise.  In  the  depths  of 
nature,  dwelling  in  her  bosom,  the  hardy  pioneer  daily  drank  soul 
inspiring  draughts  from  this  never  failing  fountain. 

"Unlearned,  as  the  world  calls  learned,  with  but  few  books 
and  fewer  newspapers,  and  but  little  time  to  read  them,  he  had 
one  book,  from  a  great  author — the  Book  of  Nature — its  broad 
pages  ever  spread  out  before  him.  From  these  his  inspiration 
came;  from  these  his  aspirations  drew  their  daily  food.  The  con- 
templation of  its  pages  broadened  his  mind,  and  evolved  grand 
thoughts;  uncontaminated  with  the  sophistry  of  the  schools,  he 
perused  its  pure  pages,  and  gained  knowledge  from  the  fountain 
head. 

"From  nature  he  went  up  to  nature's  God,  and  contemplated 
His  attributes,  and  acknowledged  his  dependence  upon  Him.  With 
religious  services  but  once  a  month,  and  that  often  during  the  week 


OLD  .SETTLERS'  MEETING.  31 

when  time  was  precious,  he  had  but  little  time  to  imbibd  sectarian 
dogmas  or  creeds.  But  from  his  constant  contact  with  pure  nature, 
and  from  his  dependent  condition  in  a  wild  uncultivated  country, 
he  felt  his  dependence  upon  a  kind  Providence  for  his  protection, 
guidance  and  ever  watchful  care.  He  felt  his  dependence  upon 
nature  and  Providence. 

"  This  condition  of  his  situation  developed  in  his  nature  what 
might  be  termed  a  natural  religion  and  a  Roman  virtue,  and  these 
were  the  characteristics  of  the  pioneer.  His  constant  struggle  with 
nature  to  provide  shelter  and  subsistence,  cultivated  a  spirit  of 
resistance  to  opposition ;  while  his  dependence  upon  his  neighbors, 
upon  nature  and  Providence,  cultivated  the  virtues  of  benevolence, 
good  will,  charity  and  religion.  If  insulted  or  his  path  crossed, 
the  one  prompted  him  to  fight  an  adversary,  and  after  he  had 
whipped  or  been  whipped  by  him,  the  other  prompted  him  to  take 
in  his  adversary,  if  occasion  required  it,  and  keep  him  over  night 
in  his  house  and  befriend  him  in  every  way  in  his  power.  His 
religious  nature  prompted  him  to  do  good  on  all  occasions  to  his 
fellow  men,  who  needed  assistance.  To  give  a  stranger  food  and 
shelter  free  of  charge ;  to  help  his  neighbor  rear  his  cabin,  care  for 
him  when  sick,  and  freely  render  such  aid  as  the  exigencies  of  the 
times  demanded. 

"The  Indians,  previous  to  1834,  annually  set  fire  to  the  tall 
prairie  grass,  and  burned  off  the  whole  face  of  the  country,  timber 
and  prairie,  thus  killing  most  of  the  brush  and  young  growth  of 
timber.  Most  of  the  wood  land  was  thus  left  open,  so  that  the 
hunter  could  see  a  gang  of  deer  or  flock  of  wild  turkeys  as  far  as 
the  eye  could  reach.  The  timbered  land  was  covered  with  a  rank 
growth  of  grass.  The  flat  prairies  were  full  of  sloughs  and  ponds, 
and  in  the  spring  of  the  year  were  almost  half  covered  with  water. 
These  ponds  were  a  resort  for  wild  geese,  cranes  and  ducks,  and 
were  numbered  almost  by  the  million.  They  were  so  numerous 
that  whole  fields  of  corn,  left  standing  during  the  winter,  were 
almost  entirely  consumed  by  them  and  the  millions  of  prairie 
chickens,  and  deer  which  roamed  over  the  country  in  large  herds. 
The  streams  were  full  of  fish,  and  these  and  the  wild  game  fur- 
nished meat  for  the  Indians  and  early  settlers  in  great  abundance. 


PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE 


THE    INDIANS 

were  very  numerous  up  to  1834.  In  1826,  the  Chief  Wampanum 
and  his  band  were  encamped  on  the  Middle  Fork,  at  what  is  now 
known  as  Johnson's  Ford.  It  was  then  and  for  years  after  known 
as  Wampanum's  Ford.  In  the  fall  of  that  year,  Stephen  Griffith 
crossed  the  stream  at  this  Indian  camping  ground  with  his  wagons, 
moving  to  where  Newtown  now  is,  and  his  teams  are  supposed  to 
be  the  first  that  ever  crossed  the  Middle  Fork.  The  Indians 
afterward  removed  to  near  where  the  town  of  Oakwood  now 
stands,  and  remained  there  until  the  fall  of  1834.  I  have  warmed 
my  cold  feet  by  their  camp  firves,  and  engaged  with  them  in  sports 
and  plays.  The  old  Indian  town  east  of  the  Salt  Works  and  ex- 
tending on  to  Danville,  was  settled  by  other  bands,  but  perhaps 
by  the  same  tribe.  The  Indians,  like  all  other  people  on  the  face 
of  the  earth,  had  their  religion.  I  have  attended  their  worship 
and  Sunday-school ;  in  fact,  an  Indian  Sunday-school  is  the  first 
Sunday-school  I  ever  attended.  These  exercises  were  very  de- 
votional, and  their  conduct  was  worthy  of  imitation  by  many  of 
the  young  people  of  to-day. 

"  The  Government  had  made  arrangements  for  the  removal  of 
the  Indians  to  the  West,  beyond  the  settlements  of  the  white  man, 
and  in  the  fall  of  1834  this  last  remnant  of  the  red  race,  who  had 
inhabited  this  country  from  time  immemorial,  with  stolid  counten- 
ance and  sullen  step,  turned  his  face  toward  the  setting  sun, 
reluctantly  yielding  to  the  decree  of  fate.  As  he  started  on  his 
unwilling  journey,  I  have  seen  him  turn  and  take  a  last  lingering 
look  at  the  graves  of  his  ancestors,  and  at  the  rising  smoke  from 
the  dying  embers  of  his  deserted  camp-fires,  soon  to  die  out  forever. 
With  melancholy  countenance  he  took  a  last  look  at  the  trees  that 
had  given  him  shade  in  summer,  and  shelter  in  winter;  at  the 
grounds  that  had  been  his  and  his  ancestors'  hunting  ground  for 
ages,  whore  he  and  they  had  played  in  youth,  and  hunted  game  in 
adult  age. 

SICKNESS. 

"After  the  Indians  had  removed  from  the  country,  and  after  a 
few  farms  had  been  improved  in  various  localities,  the  prairie  gr;t^.- 
was  not  so  universally  burned  off,  and  much  of  it  was  left  to  decay 
upon  the  ground.  This,  with  the  rotting  sod  of  the  fresh  plowed 


OI,D  SETTLERS'  MEETING.  33 

land,  and  the  numerous  ponds  and  sloughs  of  stagnant  water, 
created  a  vast  amount  of  malaria.  Attacks  of  bilious  fever,  and 
chills  and  fever  in  the  autumn  months,  were  expected  by  every 
one,  and  in  their  expectations  were  seldom  disappointed.  Whole 
families  and  sometimes  all  the  families  in  whole  neighborhoods 
were  down  sick  at  the  same  time,  and  often  not  enough  well  ones 
left  to  take  care  of  the  sick  ones.  One  redeeming  feature  of  the 
situation  was,  that  sometimes  the  patient  would  shake  with  the 
ague  on  alternate  days,  so  that  a  portion  df  the  family  on  the 
'well  day'  was  able  to  wait  upon  and  give  medicine  to  those  unable 
to  wait  upon  themselves.  But  I  have  seen  whole  families  of  six, 
eight,  or  ten  persons  down  sick  at  once,  so  that  no  one  was  able 
to  give  a  drink  of  water  to  another;  and  it  was  customary  with, 
farmers  to  hurry  their  work  through  harvest  and  haying,  in  order 
to  be  ready  for  their  periodical  sickness  in  the  fall.  This  sickness 
usually  continued  until  cold  weather,  which  destroyed  the  malaria, 
and  thus  brought  health.  Yet  many  cases  occurred  where  the 
patient  became  so  debilitated  and  out  of  health  from  the  eifects  of 
this  atmospheric  poison,  that  he  would  continue  to  shake  or  chill 
for  a  whole  year. 

"  This  universal  sickness  prevented  the  farmers  from  gathering 
their  corn  until  winter,  and  much  of  it  remained  in  the  field  until 
spring,  when  they  would  gather  in  what  was  left  by  the  deer  and 
fowls,  often  not  clearing  the  fields  until  the  plows  had  started  to 
prepare  the  ground  for  another  crop  of  corn.  This  annual  period 
of  sickness  continued  with  decreasing  effect  until  about  1850,  when 
a  large  portion  of  the  country  had  been  brought  into  cultivation, 
and  a  very  large;  portion  of  the  remainder  was  grazed  off  by  the 
thousands  of  cattle  that  roamed  over  the  prairie,  eating  the  grass 
close  to  the  ground,  and  the  tramping  of  the  ground  by  the  stock, 
together  with  some  ditches  made  by  plowing  or  otherwise,  so 
drained  off  the  surface  water  that  the  country  became  more  healthy 
than  when  first  settled. 

"It  is  proper  to  remark,  for  the  information  of  the  present 
generation,  that  the  ague,  or  chills  and  fever,  were  never  fatal,  and 
the  bilious  fever  rarely  so,  until  about  1850  to  1855,  when  the 
bilious  fever  became  very  fatal,  and  a  great  many  of  the  most 
robust  and  healthy  men  and  women,  young  and  old,  died  from  this 


34  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE 

disease.  After  about  the  last  date  mentioned,  ague  and  bilious 
fever  became  more  rare,  and  typhoid,  intermittent,  and  other  fevers 
appeared  and  followed  the  less  fatal  sickness  of  the  early  period  of 
our  history. 

FARMING    AND    IMPLEMENTS. 

" The  deep,  tough  prairie  sod  was  broken  or  plowed  with  a 
very  large  plow,  with  a  beam  ten  feet  long,  and  very  heavy ;  the 
bar  of  the  plow  was  about  four  feet  long,  and  turned  a  furrow 
twenty  to  twenty-four  inches  wide.  The  iron  portion  of  this 
immense  plow  was  made  by  the  country  blacksmith,  and  the  wood 
work  was  made  by  the  farmer  himself,  or  by  some  more  ingenious 
neighbor.  The  mould-board  was  of  wood,  and  made  from  a 
twisting  tree,  to  give  the  mould-board  the  proper  shape  to  turn  the 
sod.  This  immense  plow  was  drawn  by  six  or  eight  yoke  of  oxen. 
Most  of  the  ditches  first  made  to  drain  the  ponds  and  sloughs 
were  made  by  these  plows  and  teams.  A  few  furrows  were  thrown 
out  each  way,  making  a  ditch  four  or  five  feet  wide,  and  six  or 
eight  inches  deep,  thus  killing  the  grass,  and  carrying  off  a  vast 
amount  of  water. 

"The  prairie  thus  broken  in  May  and  June  was  planted  in 
corn,  the  seed  dropped  every  second  furrow  and  dropped  at  the 
edge  of  the  furrow,  so  that  most  of  the  corn  would  grow  up 
through  the  seams  of  the  sod.  This  corn  would  grow  luxuriantly 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  season,  after  the  sod  began  to  rot,  and 
often  yielded  thirty  or  forty  bushels  of  corn  per  acre ;  but  twenty 
to  twenty -five  bushels  was  considered  a  good  crop  of  sod  corn. 
The  sod  broken  after  the  first  of  July  was  usually  sown  in 
wheat.  A  great  deal  of  harrowing  was  necessary  to  pulverize  the 
surface  sufficiently  to  cover  the  seed.  Wheat  thus  sown  never  failed 
to  make  a  good  crop.  The  roots  of  grass  in  the  sod  prevented  the 
frost  from  heaving  the  plants  out  of  the  ground.  The  greatest 
enemy  of  the  wheat  plant  at  that  time,  was  the  innumerable  num- 
ber of  wild  geese,  ducks  and  cranes,  that  would  often  eat  off  every 
green  blade  during  the  winter  and  early  spring. 

LIVE   STOCK. 

"The  early  settlers  nearly  all  moved  here  in  wagons  from  Ohio, 
Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.  These  all 


OLD    SKTTLKIts'    MKKTINC.  35 

brought  horses,  and  many  of  them  were  of  the  best  blood  of  those 
Slates — of  the  roadster  and  general  purpose  class — largely  crossed 
with  the  turf  or  thoroughbred  stock.  The  blood  of  imported 
Diomed,  Sir  Archie,  Bertrand,  Whip,  and  of  other  noted  race 
horses,  coursed  through  their  veins.  This  class  of  horses  were 
well  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  pioneers.  As  nearly  all  the 
traveling  was  done  on  horseback,  a  quick,  active  horse  was  required 
to  answer  the  purpose.  80  universal  was  this  mode  of  traveling, 
that  I  might  say  thousands  of  people  coming  west  to  look  at  the 
country,  a  distance  of  two  to  six  hundred  miles,  came  on  horse- 
back and  returned  the  same  way,  making  four  to  twelve  hundred 
miles  the  round  trip.  I  knew  of  a  young  lady — Miss  Emeline 
Norris — going  from  this  County  on  a  visit  to  Ohio,  fifty  miles 
beyond  Cincinnati,  and  returning  the  same  way.  Josiah  Sandusky 
and  William  Craig  each  went  to  Kentucky  for  a  wife,  and  each 
brought  his  bride  to  Illinois  on  horseback. 

"  It  was  usually  a  long  way  to  stores,  post  office,  &c.,  and  it 
was  very  common  to  go  to  church  five  to  ten  miles ;  and  the  more 
important  meetings,  such  as  quarterly  meetings  and  the  old  fash- 
ioned '  two  days'  meeting,'  fifteen  miles.  The  early  settlers  took 
great  pride  in  their  horses,  and  their  saddles,  bridles,  martingales 
and  fancy  colored  girths.  And  these  noble  steeds  and  their  gay 
trappings  cannot  be  equaled  at  the  present  day.  The  saddle  horses 
were  broken  to  many  gaits,  and  as  the  long  cavalcade  of  men  and 
women,  boys  and  girls,  were  returning  from  church  on  a  Sunday, 
many  were  the  banters  to  try  the  speed  of  their  horses,  and  many 
a  race  was  run — when  the  preacher,  class  leader,  elder  or  deacon 
were  not  in'  sight — (and  often  when  they  were). 

"Almost  every  neighborhood  had  its  straight,  level  lane  of  a 
quarter  of  a  mile,  and  here  young  and  old  would  meet  on  Satur- 
day to  have  a  horse  race,  for  two,  five  or  ten  dollars  a  side,  and 
many  was  the  race  thus  run.  And  the  bottle  of  whiskey  was 
freely  passed  around,  for  drinks  on  such  occasions  were  always 
free,  the  crowd  becoming  jolly,  and  a  'high  old  time'  was  had. 

"Nearly  every  man  put  a  high  value  upon  his  honor  and 
integrity,  and  his  veracity  must  not  be  questioned.  If  any  grace- 
less scamp  refused  to  pay  his  bet  when  fairly  lost,  act  dishonorably 
in  the  race,  or  call  another  a  liar,  a  challenge  to  fight  was  instantly 


36  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE 

made.  Coats  were  laid  off,  a  ring  was  formed,  and  at  it  they  went; 
or,  perchance,  the  offender  was  instantly  knocked  down  without 
the  formality  of  a  challenge,  and  into  the  fray  they  went.  The 
friends  of  each  combatant  taking  sides  with  their  friends,  tights 
often  became  general,  when  ten  or  a  dozen  fights  were  going  on  at 
the  same  time;  and  often  each  party  to  a  fight  did  not  know  who 
he  was  fighting,  nor  what  the  fight  was  about.  After  the  fights 
were  over,  and  the  bloody  faces  washed,  often  all  made  friends, 
shook  hands,  took  another  drink  of  whiskey,  and  the  wounded 
honor  being  healed,  all  went  into  the  excitement  of  the  race  again, 
and  thus  the  day  was  spent. 

"The  Gafney  lane,  near  Butler's  Point  (now  Catlin),  and  East 
Main  street  in  Danville,  from  Hazel  street  east,  were  as  well  known 
in  the  neighborhood  as  race  tracks,  as  the  Wabash  Railroad  is  now 
known  as  a  highway  of  travel  and  commerce.  Other  lanes  in 
other  neighborhoods  were  equally  well  known  in  their  respective 
localities. 

CATTLE. 

"  The  cattle  that  were  brought  by  the  pioneers  were  mostly 
common  or  scrub  stock,  and  descendants  of  such  as  had  been 
brought  to  the  Colonies  from  England,  Spain,  France,  Germany 
and  Holland.  They  were  of  all  colors,  shapes  and  breeds.  They 
had  been  driven  west  from  the  Atlantic  coast  with  the  advancing 
settlements,  and  this  mixed  race  of  cattle  is  the  foundation  of  our 
common  stock  to-day.  These  cattle  were  greatly  improved  when 
kept  for  a  few  generations  on  our  rich  grasses  and  winter  feed. 
A  few  cattle  of  shorthorn  blood  were  brought  by  emigrants  from 
Kentucky  and  turned  out  on  the  prairies  with  the  scrub  cattle, 
which  did  something  to  improve  the  general  stock  of  the  country. 
But  little  improvement,  however,  was  made  in  cattle  stock  until 
about  1836  to  1840. 

"Previous  to  1817  some  Durham,  or  shorthorn  cattle,  had  been 
imported  into  Maryland  and  Virginia.  Descendants  of  these  im- 
portations had  been  brought  west  into  Kentucky,  and  from  there 
transplanted  into  Ohio.  In  1817,  Col.  Sanders,  of  Kentucky,  made 
an  importation  of  the  .same  breed  of  cattle  into  that  State.  In  1834, 
the  Ohio  Importing  Company  made  a  larger  and  better  importation 
into  Ohio.  Many  cattle  of  this  importation,  as  well  as  descendants 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING.  37 

of  the  importation  of  1817,  were  owned  by  Gov.  Joseph  Vance, 
Michael  Sullivant,  the  Renicks,  Dunns,  &c.  Between  the  years 
1836  and  1840,  Gov.  Joseph  Vance,  of  Ohio,  brought  a  large  lot 
of  these  cattle,  mostly  descendants  of  all  the  importations,  into 
this  County,  and  this  lot  of  cattle  were  disseminated  over  nearly 
all  parts  of  the  County  then  settled.  This  was  the  first  introduc- 
tion of  any  considerable  number  of  good  blooded  cattle  into  the 
County.  These  cattle,  male  and  female,  were  turned  out  on  the 
range,  and  did  a  great  deal  to  improve  the  general  stock  of  the 
County. 

"But  this  improvement  was  not  followed  up  by  other  crosses 
of  fresh  blood,  and  the  improvement  was  largely  lost.  About 
1850  and  later,  other  good  cattle  were  introduced,  and  great  im- 
provements were  made,  which  improvement  has  been  retained  and 
augmented  to  the  present  day.  All  other  improved  and  useful 
breeds  have  been  imported,  and  disseminated  all  over  the  Nation. 

PIOGS. 

"  I  never  did  know  where  the  first  hogs  introduced  came  from, 
but  I  do  know  they  were  a  hard  lot — 'Elm-peelers'  and  ' Hazel- 
splitters.'  But  the  best  improved  breeds  were  introduced  by  the 
most  enterprising  farmers  at  an  early  day — the  Irish  Grazier, 
Byneld,  and  Bedford— and  at  a  later  date,  from  1836  to  1840,  the 
Berkshire.  The  latter  were  brought  here  by  the  Colletts,  of 
Eugene,  Ind.,  and  were  soon  disseminated  all  over  the  country, 
being  hauled  in  wagons  as  far  west  as  the  Illinois  River.  But 
the  scrub  hog  was  not  exterminated  until  after  1850. 

SHEEP. 

"The  sheep  brought  into  the  County  were  mostly  of  the  com- 
mon wooled  breeds.  My  father  brought  two  or  three  hundred 
head  from  Ohio  in  1833.  These  were  scattered  all  over  the  County, 
and  was  the  foundation  stock  of  a  very  great  many  flocks.  A  few 
fine  wooled  sheep  were  introduced  by  the  Spencers,  Francis  Coburn, 
and  others,  which  made  quite  an  improvement  in  the  quality  of  the 
wool  in  many  flocks.  But  there  was  no  general  improvement 

until  after  1850. 

CLOTHIM;. 

"Dry  goods  were  kept  by  the  merchants  in  but  small  quantities, 
enough  only  to  supply  the  limited  demands  of  the  country.  But 


38  PKOCKKDINfiS    OF    TJIK 


the-e  cost  money,  and  that  was  a  very  scarce  article  at  the  time  of 
which  I  write.  Nearly  all  that  could  he  procured  was  ust-d  to  buv 
Government  land  to  make  a  home,  or  to  augment  future  wealth. 
When  I  relate  that  the  money  required  to  buy  a  hat  was  sufficient 
to  buy  an  acre  of  land,  the  reader  will  not  he  surprised  when  I  Tell 
him  that  the  hats  worn  in  summer,  and  .-omerimes  all  the  vear, 
were  made  at  home  out  of  oats  or  rye  straw,  braided  by  women, 
and  sewed  into  proper  shape.  For  winter  wear,  caps  were  made 
of  'possum  and  rabbit  skins.  'Coon  skins  were  considered  too 
valuable  to  be  used  for  this  purpose,  unless  some  person  of  high 
standing  in  the  community  and  of  considerable  pride,  desired  :i 
more  stylish  head  covering  in  which  to  appear  at  church  or  to 
wear  on  'state  occasions.'  When  'coon  skins  were  used,  the  gaudy 
colored  tail  was  fastened  on  the  top  of  the  cap  and  allowed  to 
hang  down  behind,  as  a  plume.  "I  must  remark  that  all  did  not 
wear  these  kinds  of  head  wear;  but  truth  compels  me  to  say  that 
they  were  more  common  at  an  early  day  than  any  other  kind. 

"Clothing  was  indispensable,  and  it  must  be  procured  at 
the  smallest  possible  outlay  of  money.  Flax  was  raised  by  almost 
every  farmer,  and  when  ripe  it  was  pulled  up  and  spread  out  on 
the  ground  until  the  straw  was  sufficiently  rotted  to  be  broken  in  a 
flax  brake;  then  it  was  swingled  by  a  swingling  knife  made  of 
wood,  shaped  like  a  straight  sword,  to  remove  the  broken  straw, 
leaving  the  lint  clean.  The  women  then  drew  the  fiber  through 
the  hatchel,  separating  the  tow  from  the  finer  fiber.  These  were 
then  spun  into  threads  upon  a  small  wheel,  by  hand,  and  woven 
into  cloth  on  a  hand  loom.  The  threads  made  from  tow  were 
woven  into  a  coarse  kind  of  cloth  for  hand  towels,  sheets,  and 
pantaloons  for  the  men  and  boys.  The  finer  fiber  was  made  into 
a  finer  quality  of  cloth.  Tablecloths  were  woven  in  figures,  as  our 
tablecloths  are  now,  and  almost  as  neat  and  tidy ;  underwear  for 
women,  and  dresses,  usually  striped  with  various  colors,  and  quite 
neat  in  appearance  and  very  durable,  lasting  several  years.  The 
'style'  did  not  go  out  of  fashion,  for  fashions  seldom  changed. 
Men's  coats,  pants,  and  sometimes  shirts  were  made  of  the  same 
fabric,  but  were  not  striped  or  colored.  All  did  not  wear  this  kind 
of  clothing,  but  it  was  very  commonly  worn.  These  goods  were 
made  for  summer  wear.  For  winter  wear  the  goods  were  made 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING.  39 


from  wool.  At  the  earliest  period  of  the  settlement  of  the  country 
the  wool  was  curded  by  hand,  on  hand  cards  made  for  that  purpose, 
and  spun  on  small  hand  wheels,  the  spinner  sitting  on  a  seat;  but 
soon  the  large  wheel  was  introduced,  and  the  wool  carded  into  rolls 
by  machinery  at  the  carding  machine.  These  long  rolls,  two  and 
a  half  feet  long,  were  drawn  out  to  make  the  thread  of  the  desired 
fineness,  and  given  the  sufficient  twist  on  those  large  spinning 
wheels,  the  spinner  giving  the  wheel  a  rapid  turn  and  at  the  same 
time  walking  back* across  the  room,  drawing  the  wool  out  to  the 
desired  size.  This  yarn  was  then  woven  into  cloth  by  the  women, 
on  hand  looms.  Men's  wear  was  made  into  jeans,  the  warp  being 
of  cotton  thread,  and  the  filling  of  woolen  yarn.  This  made  warm 
and  durable  clothing.  The  wool  was  generally  colored  before 
being  carded — 'dyed  in  the  wool' — and  was  usually  colored  with 
oak  or  walnut  bark,  a  brown  or  'butternut'  color.  Some  was 
colored  blue  with  indigo,  and  frequently  a  portion  of  white  wool 
was  mixed  with  the  blue,  and  this  made  a  steel  mixed  cloth  of 
quite  genteel  appearance.  Flannels  were  all  wool,  and  that  for 
ladies'  dresses  was  either  striped  or  checked  with  yarn  of  various 
colors.  Blankets,  warm  and  of  the  most  durable  kind,  were  also 
made,  and  coverlets  of  as  fancy  patterns  as  can  be  purchased  at  the 
stores  to-day. 

"  Buckskin  suits  were  not  uncommon,  and  were  made  up  in 
fancy  style,  the  seams  being  fringed  by  the  leather  being  cut  in  strips 
01-  strings.  This  style  of  clothing  was  copied  from  the  Indians. 

"If  the  reader  will  allow  me  to  digress,  I  will  remark  that 
wool,  being  so  indispensable  to  the  early  settlers^  it  will  be  seen  at 
once  that  the  rearing  of  sheep  was  of  the  greatest  importance,  and 
yet  most  difficult  to  do,  on  account  of  the  vast  number  of  wolves 
that  infested  the  country.  The  sheep  had  to  be  kept  at  night  in 
pens,  near  the  house,  and  guarded  by  dogs  to  prevent  them  from 
being  killed.  Frequently  they  were  killed  in  broad  daylight,  in 
sight  of  the  settler's  cabin.  Wolves  were  so  detrimental  to  wool 
growing  that  the  State  offered  a  liberal  premium  for  their  scalps. 
Large  wolf  hunts  were  organ i/ed.  A  flag  pole  would  be  erected 
on  some  high  ridge,  for  a  center  and  meeting  point.  •  A  circle  of 
eight  or  ten  miles  in  diameter  formed,  and  all  drove  the  wolves 
toward  the  flag  pole,  running  them  down  with  horses,  and  killing 


40  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE 

I 

them  when  exhausted  with  clubs.  Sometimes  the  wolf  would  run 
eight  or  ten  miles.  These  long  chases  tried  the  bottom  of  the 
noble  race  of  horses  produced  in  the  country  at  that  time.  At 
these  organized  hunts,  fifteen  or  twenty  wolves  were  often  killed 
in  a  day. 

"I  must  not  omit  the  shoemaker.  The  hides  of  cattle  were 
tanned  at  the  country  tannery,  and  as  money  was  not  plenty,  this 
was  usually  done  on  shares.  Every  neighborhood  had  its  shoe- 
maker, and  sometimes  an  itinerant  one,  who,  with  his  lasts  and 
awls,  went  from  house  to  house  in  the  fall  of  the  year.  When  one 
family  was  supplied  with  new  'shoes  (the  shoemaker  seldom  had 
the  necessary  ski-11  to  make  boots),  this  traveling  shoe  shop  would 
move  on  to  the  next  house.  But  it  is  proper  to  remark  that  the 
/(Miner  was  often  shoemaker  and  carpenter  as  well.  The  compen- 
sation of  the  shoemaker  was  usually  some  kind  of  barter,  but  little 
being  paid  in  money. 

"Thus  the  family  was  clad  from  head  to  foot,  and  well  clad,  ai 
a  very  small  outlay  of  actual  cash.  It  was  an  absolute  necessity 
that  the  indispensable  articles  of  life  should  be  procured  by  a 
small  outlay  of  money,  for  money  was  very  hard  to  obtain. 

MARKETS. 

"  Live  stock  and  produce  brought  very  low  prices.  Corn 
brought  from  six  to  ten  cents  per  bushel.  Hogs,  a  dollar  and  a 
quarter  to  a  dollar  and  a  half  and  two  dollars  per  hundred,  net. 
Milch  cows  seven  or  eight  dollars,  and  two  year  old  steers  eight  to 
ten  dollars  per  head.  Good  horses  forty  dollars,  and  all  other 
produce  in  proportion. 

"  Up  to  1831  it  could  hardly  be  said  there  was  any  market  for 
farm  produce,  except  to  what  few  emigrants  there  were  coming  into 
the  country.  In  the  winter  and  spring  of  1831  the  Fromans  built 
the  first  flatboat  at  Danville,  and  loaded  it  with  corn  and  hay,  and 
floated  it  down  the  river  to  New  Orleans,  to  a  market.  Mr.  Wm. 
Dougherty,  now  Hying  near  Catlin,  informs  me  that  he  helped 
build,  launch  and  load  the  boat,  and  that  the  rejoicing  over  this 
great  teat  was  so  great  that  Guerdon  S.  Hubbard  turned  out  ten 
gallons  of  whiskey  to  treat  the  men.  (A  smaller  quantity  would 
have  hardly  answered  the  purpose.)  In  years  following  other  boats 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING.  41 


were  built  and  loaded  with  produce,  and  in  some  cases  fat  cattle 
were  thus  sent  to  a  southern  market.  Fat  hogs  were  slaughtered 
and  cured  at  Perrysville  and  Eugene,  Indiana,  in  great  numbers, 
and  sent  in  a  similar  way  to  the  same  market. 

"  A  few  years  later  Chicago  became  a  market  for  oats,  wheat, 
corn,  and  some  other  produce.  These  were  hauled  in  wagons.  Two 
weeks  usually  being  required  to  make  a  trip;  the  teamsters  camp- 
ing out  going  and  returning,  and  grazing  t'heir  teams  on  the  wild 
prairie  grass.  Most  of  the  teams  were  oxen,  but  frequently  horses 
were  usi'd.  The  load,  when  sold,  would  bring  from  ten  to  twenty 
dollars.  This  was  generally  invested  in  a  barrel  of  salt,  a  bolt  of 
muslin,  some  sugar  and  coffee,  and  perhaps  a  pair  of  cow-hide 
boots.  At  a  later  date  the  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal  was  built  to 
LaFayette,  Indiana,  and  a  short  time  after  to  Attica  and  Covington, 
when  the  time  required  to  make  a  trip  was  reduced  to  two  to  four 
days.  When  the  farmer  could  haul  a  load  of  grain  to  market  in 
three  or  four  days,  he  began  to  conclude  that  he  had  a  market 
almost  at  his  door. 

"  I  should  remark  that  about  1840  cattle  dealers  from  Ohio 
came  into  the  country  and  bought  up  three  and  four-year  old  steers 
and  .stall-fed  them,  and  when  fat  drove  them  on  foot  to  New  York, 
Baltimore  and  Philadelphia.  This  was  a  great  help  to  the  country. 
It  made  a  market  for  that  cjass  of  c;ittle,  and  for  a  great  amount  of 
corn.  The  cattle  were  fed  and  drove  in  lots  of  about  a  hundred 
head.  I  have  said  that  this  was  done  by  men  from  Ohio.  None 
of  our  own  citizens  had  sufficient  capital  to  engage  in  such  a  large 
enterprise,  and  it  could  not  be  obtained  in  the  country. 

FARM    IMPLEMENTS. 

"  Oats  and  wheat,  for  a  number  of  years  in  our  early  history, 
were  reaped  with  sickles.  This  was  a  slow  process  of  harvesting 
grain,  and  many  yet  living  will  bear  witness  that  it  was  often  hard 
on  the  fingers.  A  scar  on  my  left  thumb,  and  on  each  of  the 
finders  of  my  left  hand,  made  by  this  implement,  attest  the  truth 
of  this  remark,  and  almost  all  who  used  the  sickle  carry  similar 
scars.  The  scythe  and  cradle  were  introduced  at  an  early  day,  and 
this  was  a  great  improvement  over  the  sickle.  A  few  good  barns, 
with  threshing  floors,  were  built  previous  to  or  about  1835.  But 
usually  the  ground  was  cleaned  off,  and  the  grain  was  tramped  out 


42  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE 

with  horses.  Occasionally  it  was  threshed  out  with  flails.  Previous 
to  the  introduction  of  fanning;  mills,  the  chaff  and  straw  was  cleaned 
out  a.s  best  it  could  be,  by  slowly  pouring  the  wheat  out  of  a  half 
bushel  measure,  or  bucket  and  the  chaff  and  straw  was  blown  out 
by  the  wind.  In  case  of  a  long  calm,  a  sheet  was  sometimes  held 
at  each  end  by  two  men,  and  so  manipulated  as  to  blow  out  a  large 
part  of  the  chaff  and  straw.  The  first  threshing  machines  used  had 
concave  and  cylinder,  much  as  machines  have  now,  but  grain,  chaff 
and  straw  all  came  from  the  machine  together.  Threshers  and 
separators  were  not  introduced  until  about  1850. 

"  The  ground  to  be  planted  in  corn  was  broken  up  and  fur- 
rowed off  each  way,  the  seed  dropped  by  hand  and  covered  with  a 
plow  or  'jumper,'  the  'jumper'  being  lifted  at  each  hill,  letting 
the  dirt  fall  on  the  seed.  Corn  planters  were  introduced  about 
1860.  The  corn  was  cultivated  with  a  Carey  plow,  similar  in  shape, 
but  smaller  in  size,  to  a  breaking  plow,  or  with  a  shovel  plow. 
Corn  thus  plowed  two  or  three  times  usually  would  yield  sixty  to 
eighty  bushels  per  acre. 

"Up  to  about  1852  meadows  were  mown  with  scythes,  two 
acres  cut  by  each  man  was  considered  a  good  day's  work.  About 
this  time  mowing  machines  were  iutrodftced. 

"Of  the  establishment  of  churches  and  other  religious  institu- 
tions, my  limited  space  will  not  permit  me  to  write,  and  for  the 
further  reason  that  this  subject  has  been  somewhat  written  up  by 
other  historians. 

THE   SCHOOLS 

have  not  been  so  minutely  described  by  other  writers,  and  I  desire 
to  record  some  account  of  them.  There  was  no  provision  made  by 
law  for  levying  tax  to  build  school  houses.  The  houses  were  all 
built  of  logs,  generally  hewn.  Each  patron  of  the  school  furnished 
a  quota  of  logs,  clap-boards,  &c.  Then  all  came  together  and  built 
the  house,  'chinked'  the  cracks  between  the  logs  with  split  sticks 
of  wood,  and  filled  the  remainder  of  the  crack  with  mud,  which 
made  a  tolerably  warm  house.  A  loy;  was  cut  out  on  one  or. two 

•/ 

sides  of  the  building  and  two  rows  of  eight  by  ten  glass  were  fitted 
in  the  whole  broadside  of  the  house,  to  give  light.  Occasionally 
greased  paper  was  used  instead  of  glass.  A  large  .-pace  was  cut 
out  of  one  end  of  the  house  in  which  to  build  a  fireplace.  (Stoves 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING.  43 


were  not  iu  use  then.)  This  was  sometimes  made  of  rocks,  but 
ofteiier  made  of  mud,  upon  this  was  built  a  chimney,  made  of  sticks 
and  mud,  and  when  this  rude  fireplace  and  chimney  was  dried  and 
heated  up  by  the  fire,  they  would  stand  for  a  number  of  years.  The 
floors  were  made  of  split  puncheons,  or  sometimes  of  sawed  plank. 
The  seats  were  of  split  logs  or  slabs,  without  backs,  and  the  writing 
desks  were  wide  plank  placed  on  pins  driven  into  auger  holes  in  the 
wall.  This,  with  a  door  made  of  rough  boards,  hung  on  wooden 
hinges,  constituted  the  school  house  and  furniture.  And  in  these 
rude  hovels  some  of  the  greatest  men  that  this  country  has  ever 
produced,  received  all  the  instruction  they  ever  received  in  school. 

THE    TEACHERS 

were  generally  of  but  limited  education,  teaching  orthography, 
reading,  penmanship,  and  arithmetic  to  the  single  'rule  of  three' or 
proportion.  They  were  very  proficient  in  spelling  and  in  writing, 
and  in  these  two  branches  were  far  superior  to  teachers  at  the  pres- 
ent day.  Occasionally  a  teacher  could  be  found  who  could  teach 
all  the  rules  in  arithmetic,  and  sometimes  grammar  and  geography. 
While  the  teachers  were  of  limited  education,  they  were  men  of 
good  intellect,  and  of  a  practical  turn  of  mind,  and  good  executive 
ability  and  government.  And  such  was  their  enthusiasm  in  matters 
of  education,  and  such  was  the  thirst  for  knowledge  on  the  part 
of  the  scholars,  that  I  think  the  facts  will  not  be  too  highly  colored, 
when  I  say  that  a  scholar,  in  a  three  months'  term,  made  as  great 
advancement  as  is  now  made  in  a  term  of  six  or  eight  months. 
"There  was  but  little  public* funds  at  that  day,  with  which  to 
pay  teachers,  and  after  the  public  funds  were  exhausted  the  schools 
were  continued  by  subscription,  and  only  about  a  three  months' 
term  was  taught  in  the  year.  The  fuel  was  furnished  by  each  pat- 
ron of  the  school  hauling  a  certain  number  of  loads  of  wood,  and 
that  often  brought  to  the  school  house  in  logs  or  limbs  of  trees  ten 

O  o 

feet  long,  and  then  had  to  be  cut  into  suitable  lengths  by  the  teacher 
and  larger  boys.  The  teachers  were  hired  at  a  certain  sum  per 
mouth  and  their  board,  they  going  round  among  the  patrons  and 
boarding  a  time  with  each  family  in  proportion  to  the  number  of 
scholars  sent  by  each.  Thus  reducing  the  wages  of  the  teacher  in 
cash,  which  was  a  matter  of  great  consideration  iu  all  business 
transactions  at  that  day.  And  while  the  teacher  was  thus  '  board- 


44  PRO<  KKI>IN<;S    OF   THE 


ing  round,'  lie  usually  continued  his  instructions  in  the  family, 
around  the  tallow  candle,  till  late  bed-time.  And  not  (infrequently 
the  father  of  the  scholars,  who  had  had  but  limited  opportunities 
when  young,  now  became  a  student  with  his  children,  and  thus 
acquired  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  rudimentary  branches  to  keep 
his  own  accouutvS  and  to  transact  the  ordinary  business  of  life  fairly 
well. 

THE    PIONEERS 

of  this  country  were  the  sons  and  daughters  of  pioneers  in  new 
States,  east  and  south.  They  were  accustomed  from  youth  to  toil, 
privations  and  hardships,  and  these  had  made  them  courageous  and 
strong. . 

"There  were  two  classes  of  emigrants  that  settled  this  country. 
One  a  lazy,  listless,  dreamy  class,  who  settled  along  the  creeks  in 
little  cabins,  and  lived  by  hunting,  trapping  and  fishing,  and  thus 
obtained  a  precarious  living.  These,  when  the  country  began  to 
fill  up  and  game  began  to  disappear,  removed  to  more  congenial 
localities  and  left  no  trace  behind.  The  other  class  were  men  of 
energy,  enterprise  and  ahibition;  men  of  strong  common  sense 
and  Roman  virtue,  and  a  courage  to  surmount  all  difficulties  that 
came  in  their  way.  They  battled  against  sickness,  privations  and 
poverty,  and  bravely  stood  by  their  guns  when  the  battle  seemed 
to  go  against  them.  They  came  here  to  lay  a  foundation,  broad 
and  deep,  for  their  own  fortune  and  that  of  their  posterity  after 
them.  Many  of  them  have  lived  to  realize  the  full  fruition  of 
their  hopes — to  see  luxury  and  ease  take  the  place  of  poverty  ;  to 
exchange  the  log  cabin  for  the  splendid  mansion.  They  lived  here 
when  almost  every  house  was  a  hospital,  and  lived  to  see  the  bloom 
of  health  on  almost  every  cheek.  They  lived  here  when  this  now 
great  State  was  inhabited  by  wild  beasts  and  by  wild  and  savage 
men,  and  have  lived  to  see  a  population  of  over  three  millions  of 
intelligent  and  happy  people  within  its  borders,  and  the  sails  of 
whose  commerce  whitens  every  sea  on  the  face  of  the  globe. 

"  I  must  not  forget  to  mention  the  noble  matrons — the 
mothers  of  the  present  generation.  Unlike  the  modern  produc- 
tion of  the  dentist,  the  milliner,  the  dress-maker,  and  the  up- 
holsterer, she,  with  well  developed  frame  and  ample  bosom,  was 
physically  the  model  of  her  sex.  Untainted  by  fashion's  follies,  she 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING.  45 


could  spin  and  weave  and  color  the  goods,  and  make  the  gar- 
ments for  men  and  women's  wear,  and  cook  and  care  for  a 
large  family  beside.  She  could  keep  her  cabin,  that  was  kitchen, 
parlor  and  bed-room,  neat  and  clean.  And  in  after  years,  when 
the  cabin  was  exchanged  for  the  mansion,  she  proved  that  she 
con  Id  preside  over  that  with  ease,  grace  and  dignity.  She  was 
a  noble  specimen  of  womanhood. 

"  The  noble  pioneers  have  nearly  all  gone  to  join  the  silent 
majority  ;  their  work  is  done,  and  nobly  done ;  may  their  memory, 
be  cherished  and  their  graves  kept  green  by  a  grateful  posterity. 

"I  have  received  the  following  letter  from  Mrs.  Fidelia  Cole- 
man,  daughter  of  Mr.  James  D.  Butler,  the  first  settler  of  Butler's 
Point,  and  whose  family  was  the  second  that  settled  in  this  County. 
She  is  now  seventy-four  years  old  : 

1  GARFIELD  COUNTY,  Nebraska,  March  8th,  1886. 

MR.  J.  H.  OAK  WOOD — Dear  Sir:  In  reply  to  your  letter, 
asking  for  my  recollections  of  the  early  settlement  of  Vermilion 
County,  I  will  state  that  in  the  spring  of  1821  father  came  to  what 
is  now  Vermilion  County.  On  the  25th  of  March  he  landed  on 
the  spot  where  he  finally  located,  and  built  a  log  cabin.  There 
was  no  house  then  between  there  and  Clinton,  Ind.,  on  the  Wabash. 
During  the  summer  he  and  Mr.  Higen  Town  broke  prairie,  while 
my  brother-in-law  and  two  hired  hands,  David  Bump  and  Lewis 
Baily,  made  rails  and  fenced  the  land.  Their  nearest  neighbor  was 
Mr.  Treat,  who  lived  at  the  Salt  Works,  his  was  the  only  family 
living  in  the  County  when  we  settled  there.  There  were  two 
brothers  then  working  at  the  Salt  Works  by  the  name  of  George 
and  Dan  Beckwith,  and  a  Mr.  Whitcomb.  Later  in  the  summer 
Mr.  Town  selected  what  land  he  wanted  and  built  a  cabin,  and 
made  some  other  improvements,  ready  for  his  family  in  the  fall. 
They  returned  to  Ohio  for  their  families,  when  Mr.  Town  was 
taken  sick  and  died.  + 

'In  October  father  returned,  and  George  Ware  and  Mr. 
Baily  with  their  families.  In  the  fall  of  this  year  three  families 
of  Quakers  settled  seventeen  miles  south,  on  the  Wabash  road, 
and  afterward  this  place  was  called  Quaker  Point.  About  the 
same  time  there  were  two  families — Mr.  Johnson  and  Mr.  Starr — 


46  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE 


located  seven  miles  south  of  father's,  on  the  Little  Vermilion. 
In  October,  on  his  .return,  father  built  an  addition  to  his  cabin, 
and  four  years  after,  on  the  same  spot,  he  built  a  one  and  a 
half  story  log  house.  These  buildings  were  south  of  the  State  road, 
or  what  was  the  State  road  in  1840.  For  the  two  first  years 
he  was  in  the  County,  he  had  to  go. to  Terre  Haute  to  mill 
and  to  do  his  trading. 

'  In  the  summer  of  1822  Mr.  Mandyille  and  his  two  sons-in-law, 
Isaac  Howard  and  Benjamin  Brooks,  settled  at  what  was  afterward 
known  as  Brooks'  Point.  During  the  fall  of  1822  my  elder  sister 
was  taken  sick  and  died,  also  her  little  boy  two  months  old.  During 
the  fall  of  this  year  fourteen  of  us  were  sick  at  one  time  at  father's,, 
for  my  brothers-in-law  and  families  at  the  Salt  Works  were  all 
sick,  and  father  was  obliged  to  bring  them  all  home.  In  the  spring 
of  1823  Mr.  Asa  Elliot  moved  out  from  Kentucky  and  bought  Mr. 
Town's  improvements  that  he  had  made  in  1821.  During  this 
summer  Mr.  Swank  settled  four  miles  west  of  father's,  and  his  place 
of  settlement  took  the  name  of  Swank's  Point.  Some  time  in  the 
year  1824  Mr.  Achilles  Morgan  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  Brooks' 
Point,  also  other  families.  This  year  Eugene,  Ind.,  was  laid  out, 
and  a  Mr.  Gruenendyke  built  a  mill.  Two  miles  from  there,  on  the 
Wabash,  where  Perrysville  now  stands,  there  were  several  families, 
and  a  young  Doctor  by  the  name  of  Reynolds,  who  was,  I  believe, 
the  first  Doctor  that  practiced  in  the  County.  The  same  summer 
Mr.  -Ticknor  came  into  our  neighborhood,  and  in  the  winter  of 
1824  and  1825  taught  the  first  school  in  the  County.  In  the  spring 
of  1825  he  located  four  miles  east  of  father's,  about  two  miles  south 
of  where  Danville  now  is.  The  same  summer  Mr.  Spencer  com- 
menced his  improvements  close  to  Mr.  Ticknor's. 

'About  this  time  Mr.  Wooden  moved  from  the  Salt  Work's, 
where  he  had  been  since  the  summer  of  1824,  and  bought 
George  Ware's  improvements.  Mr.  Squires,  Mr.  Trickle  and 
John  Light  Settled  in  our  neighborhood.  At  this  time  George 
Beck  with  built  a  mill  on  the  North  Fork,  close  to  where  Dan- 
ville now  stands.  During  this  summer  the  County  was 'organ- 
ized. The  elections  and  general  mustering  was  held  at  father's. 
Later  in  the  fall  the  County  officers  met  at  father's  and  trans- 
acted all  County  business. 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING.  47 

1 1  have  seen  your  History  of  the  County  (Coffeen's).  It 
stated  that  the  first  Court  and  County  business  was  done  at  Asa 
Elliot's.  This  is  a  mistake.  It  was  done  at  father's.  The 
County  Clerk,  Amos  Williams,  and  Sheriff  Reed  boarded  at 
father's  the  winter  of  1825  and  '26.  In  the  spring  of  1826 
Amos  Williams  was  married,  and  built  a  log  house  on  Mr. 
Elliot's  land,  and  taught  school  and  done  the  County  business.  The 
Commissioners  met  again  in  June  at  father's. 

'  In  March  or  April  Danville  was  laid  out,  and  in  the  summer 
Dan  Beckwith  built  the  first  house,  and  had  the  first  store  in 
Danville.  ***** 

FIDELIA  COLEMAN.' 

"  The  dates  given,  and  circumstances  related  above,  are  doubt- 
less substantially  correct,  but  after  the  lapse  of  sixty-five  years, 
some  mistakes  may  have  been  made." 


48  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE 


FRAGMENTS  BY  W.  C.  COWAN. 


GEORGETOWN    TOWNSHIP. 

For  the  topography  of  the  Township,  which  we  think  is  as 
correct  us  can  be  given,  we  are  indebted  to  Vermilion  County 
History.  It  says : 

"It  lies  in  that  portion  of  the  County  which  is  south  and  east 
of  the  centre.  It  is  in  the  second  tier  of  Townships  from  the 
south  boundary  line  of  the  County,  and  has  the  Indiana  State  line 
on  its  eastern  border.  It  embraces  all  of  Congressional  Township 
18  north,  range  11  west,  and  the  fraction  of  18-10  which  lies  be- 
tween the  former  and  the  State  line,  and  six  sections  at  the  south- 
east corner  of  18-12.  The  Vermilion  River  runs  across  its 
northeastern  corner  for  about  five  miles,  and  so  deep  down  is  its 
bed  that  the  surrounding  country  is  easily  and  perfectly  drained 
into  it.  The  Little  Vermilion  makes  a  short  turn  into  its  south- 
ern border,  running  through  sections  33  and  34.  The  State  road 
from  Vincennes  to  Chicago  runs  across  the  Township,  and  the 
'  Salt  Works  road,'  on  which  the  products  of  the  salt  springs  were 
carried  into  Western  Indiana,  runs  diagonally  across  it.  The  Cairo, 
Vincennes  &  Chicago  (originally  the  Danville  &  Southwestern 
Railroad),  runs  through  the  town  almost  parallel  with  the  State 
road,  and  has  on  it  the  two  stations,  Georgetown  and  Westville. 

"The  Township  was  originally  nearly  all  timber,  there  being 
only  about  one-third  of  it  along  its  western  border  and  in  its  centre 
which  was  prairie.  Some  of  the  earliest  settlements  of  the  country 
were  made  within  its  borders,  and  considerable  farms  were  cleared 
before  the  people  coming  from  a  wooded  country  learned  that  they 
could  live  on  the  prairie.  Coal  is  known  to  be  underlying  pretty 
much  all  the  territory  comprising  this  Township,  and  along  the 
streams  which  flow  into  the  Vermilion,  its  ontcroppings  have  been, 
and  are  now,  freely  worked.  It  was  one  of  the  first  to  be  generally 
settled.  The  abundance  of  its  timber,  the  water  supplv,  the  gen- 
eral make-up  of  the  land,  and  its  proximity  to  the  Salt  Work-, 
which  were  the  centre  of  settlement  at  that  day,  drew  to  it  those 
who  first  came  to  the  country  to  make  their  pioneer  homes, " 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING.  49 

We  open  what  we  have  to  say  by  relating  a  circumstance 
which  we  learned  when  a  boy:  Daniel  Lane  settled  in  an  early 
day  on  what  is  called  North  Arm,  in  Edgar  County,  where  a 
colony  of  whites  had  settled.  He  started  one  morning  from  that 
place  on  horseback,  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  to  come  to  the  white 
settlement  in  this  section,  perhaps  to  what  is  now  called  Quaker 
Point.  As  was  the  custom  when  they  went  out  to  be  gone  a  day, 
he  provided  himself  with  three  biscuits  in  his  pocket,  as  a  pre- 
cautionary step  to  ward  off  the.  approach  of  hunger.  In  some  way 
he  missed  his  bearings  and  was  lost.  The  planetary  system,  to  his 
vision,  had  been  changed  and  the  face  of  the  country  had  lost  its 
natural  appearance.  Thus  he  wandered  for  nine  days,  but  on  the 
morning  of  the  ninth  he  struck  a  cow  track  some  place  near  the 
Embarrass  River,  which  took  him  into  his  own  settlement.  For 
several  days  the  colony  had  been  aroused,  and  in  mass  were  scour- 
ing the  country  for  him,  but  no  tidings.  When  he  rode  into  the 
settlement,  his  neighbors  scarcely  knew  him,  he  had  become  so 
emaciated  from  the  nine  days'  fasting.  He  had  subsisted  on  what 
grew  wild  through  the  country  through  which  he  traveled.  When 
he  returned  he  yet  had  one  and  a  half  of  the  biscuits  with  which 
he  started.  Being  asked  by  his  friends  why  he  had  not  used  them, 
he  said:  "I  was  holding  them  for  a  pinch."  The  skin  was  worn 
from  his  horse's  legs  up  to  the  knees,  by  the  continued  traveling 
through  the  rough  prairie  grass.  Mr.  Lane  lived  and  died  in  the 
neighborhood  wher6  he  first  settled,  on  the  North  Arm.  When 
the  writer  knew  him  he  was  living  with  his  second  wife,  a  young 
and  buxom  lass,  while  he  was  old  and  decrepit.  It  is  said  when 
he  asked  her  to  marry  him,  he  did  so  by  asking  her  the  following 
question  :  "  Whether  she  would  rather  be  an  old  man's  darling,  or 
a  young  man's  slave?"  She  chose  the  former,  and  they  were  mar- 
ried. She  lived  with  him  until  his  death,  some  forty-five  years 
ago,  and  for  her  sacrifice  and  faithfulness  she  became,  at  his  death, 
the  mistress  of  a  large  estate. 

Henry  Johnson,  who  settled  west  of  Georgetown,  came  in 
1820,  and  was,  no  doubt,  the  first  settler  within  the  bounds  of  the 
Township — Mr.  Butler  settling  about  the  same  time  at  Butler's 
Point.  Absolem  Starr  came  in  1821.  Jotham  Lyou  and  John 
Jordou  arrived  here  in  the  same  year,  and  all  settled  west  of  town, 


50  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE 


on  the  Lonu:,  Cooper  and  J.  C.  Jones  farms.  Johnson  sold  his 
farm,  the  L<mg  property,  to  Wm.  Millican,  he  to  Bolcr  Canuday, 
he  to  Abe  Galyon,  and  Galyon  sold  to  Lev!  Long,  the  present 
owner  and  occupant.  It  is  told,  that  during  the  winter  of  1821, 
Mr.  Starr,  while  out  'coon  hunting,  skinned  his  heel,  and  from 
the  fact  that  the  'coon  crop  was  on  and  must  l>e  gathered  when 
ripe,  (for  their  pelts  entered  largely  into  the  commercial  exchange 
of  that  day  i,  he  could  give  his  heel  no  rest,  and  the'consequence 
\vas.  it  l)ecame  an  eating  sore  and  was  pronounced  a  cancer.  After 
c(»nsiderable  doctoring  tiie  cancer  was  cured  l>v  a  root-an<l-herl) 
Indian  doctor. 

Benjamin  Canaday  came  in  about  1823,  and  was  first  known 
in  this  country  as  a  tin  tinker  and  peddler.  John,  Freddie  and 
William  Canaday,  brothers  of  Benjamin,  all  settled  here  about  the 
same  time,  and  all  took  land.  Freddie  and  William  are  both 
living  on  the  farms  they  first  took ;  John  died  several  years  ago, 
and  his  son  Henry  lives  on  the  old  homestead.  They  are  in 
El  wood  Township. 

Within  the  next  ten  years,  or  up  to  1830,  we  find  this  part  of 
the  country  pretty  densely  populated.  West  of  the  present  town 
site  we  find,  besides  those  already  mentioned,  John  Sherer,  Eli 
Hewitt,  David  and  Walter  Goodlier,  Anthony  Gebheart,  Achilles 
Spicer  and  Henry  Martin.  Mr.  Martin  was  the  second  Justice  of 
the  Peace  in  the  County — Jacob  Brazelton  being  the  first — he 
having  been  called  to  that  honorable  station  while  this  section  was 
yet  a  portion  of  Edgar  County.  Xelson  Moore  was  among  the 
first  settlers,  and,  it  is  said,  killed  a  deer  near  where  the  Public 
Square  of  the  village  now  is.  It  was  then  in  its  wilderness  beauty, 
and  but  a  few  years  before  there  could  only  be  heard  in  the 
twilight,  reverberating  through  the  ravines  of  the  Vermilion,  the 
war  whoop  of  the  Indian,  the  howl  of  the  wolf,  the  hoot  of  the 
owl,  and  the  hiss  of  the  adder.  Mr.  Moore  raised  quite  a  large 
family,  and  at  his  demise  left  a  considerable  lauded  estate,  which 
is  largely  owned  now  by  his  son  Elijah,  who  is  the  oldest  native 
born  personage  in  this  town.  His  brother,  William  M.  Moore, 
who  lives  in  the  village,  is  the  oldest  continuous  re.-ident,  having 
been  here  sixty-one  years. 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING.  51 

The  town  site  of  Georgetown  was  laid  out  by  James  Ha  worth, 
on  the  30th  day  of  May,  1829;  and  that  the  name  of  his  badly 
crippled  son  George  might  be  perpetuated,  he  called  it  Georgetown. 
His  son,  for  whom  the  town  was  named,  died  here  in  1854  or  '55, 
with  cholera.  It  is  true,  as  has  already  gone  into  history,  that  the 
town  was  laid  off  with  a  grapevine,  and  some  of  the  surveyors, 
with  their  new  ideas  and  chains,  say  the  vine  was  not  stretched 
tight  enough  at  all  times  to  make  the  corners  meet.  "The  day  the 
town  site  was  laid  out,"  said  an  eye  witness,  "  was  a  gala  day — a 
kind  of  go-as-you-please,  so  you  did  not  go  too  fast.  Free  whiskey, 
free  lip,  and  free  fights  was  a  prominent  feature  of  the  pro- 
gramme." But  in  those  days  they  would  fight,  pout  for  a  short 
time,  then  kiss,  make  friends,  and  sing  the  short  meter  doxology. 

It  will  hardly  be  expected  that  a  detailed  history  of  all  the 
persons,  manners  and  customs  of  the  early  settlers  will  be  given 
in  the  time  allotted,  and  from  material  that  can  be  commanded. 

While  the  Vermilion  County  History  gives  much  in  detail  and 
embodies  the  history  of  the  entire  County,  yet  very  many  minor 
errors,  as  would  naturally  be  the  case,  have  crept  into  its  pages, 
and  many  facts  are  omitted. 

It  seems  to  one  somewhat  acquainted  with  the  early  settlers, 
that  the  History  of  Vermilion  County  was  written  on  the  hypothesis 
of  "You  help  me  and  I'll  help  you."  If  you  subscribed  for  one  of 
the  books,  your  itemized  account  was  given  in  detail;  but  if  not, 
it  appears  so  far  as  it  was  possible  you  were  ignored. 

Levi  Long,  one  of  the  present  Vice  Presidents  of  the  Old 
Settlers'  Association,  came  here  in  about  1830.  When  he  came 
the  post  office  for  this  section  was  kept  at  Alexander  McDonald's, 
four  miles  west  of  Georgetown,  now  in  Carroll  Township.  In 
those  days  the  sender  of  a  letter  did  not  prepay  the  postage,  but 
the  person  receiving  it  paid,  the  rate  of  postage  being  somewhat  in 
advance  of  what  it  is  to-day,  that  is,  25  cents  on  each  letter  coming 
500  miles.  There  was  also  a  post  office  near  or  where  Danville  is; 
and,  to  show  how  hard  they  joked  one  another  in  those  days, 
Jimmie  Niccum,  one  of  the  new  corners,  hearing  some  way  that 
there  was  a  letter  in  the  Danville  office  for  him,  and  as  Sunday 
was  a  kind  of  a  ride  around  over  the  country  and  see  what  was 
going  on  day,  he  secured  the  company  of  Levi  Long,  one  Sunday, 


52  PRCK  I:KI>IX<;S  OF  THE 

to  go  with  him  to  the  office  for  his  letter,  a  twenty-mile  ride. 
After  reaching  Danville,  Jiminie,  with  some  difficulty,  secured  hi* 
letter  by  paying  20  or  25  cents  for  it;  and  upon  opening  he  found 
it  contained  but  a  gilt-edged  blank.  This  set  Jiminie  to  walking 
on  his  ear,  and  he  swore  vengeance,  mildly,  lie  having  a  very  good 
idea  who  the  perpetrator  was. 

Great  changes  in  the  postal  service  have  taken  place  since  those 
happy  old  Sister  Phebe  times  of  'coon  huntings,  wood  chopping*, 
log  rollings,  flax  pulliugs,  corn  huskings,  and  comfort  tacking  days. 
They,  with  their  pleasant  recollections,  have  passed  with  their 
actors  into  the  beyond;  and  like  many  arts  of  the  dark  ages,  have 
failed  of  record.  Government  has  changed  her  plan  of  doing 
business — has  adopted  the  cash  system— therefore  can  do  the  work 
much  cheaper,  there  being  no  bad  debts  to  look  after,  and  2  cents 
takes  the  place  of  25  or  50  cents.  You  simply  procure  your  tickets 
before  passing  upon  the  inside. 

So  everything  changes,  some  to  a  higher  grade,  others  to  a  ques- 
tionable one.  The  flutter  wheel  in  the  babbling  brook  has  lost 
its  music  and  its  charms  for  Young  America,  and  amid  the  click 
of  the  telegraph,  the  thundering  of  the  incoming  train  and  cigar 
smoke  they  are  lost  in  the  maze.  The  sewing  machine  has  taken 
the  place  of  the  needle  that  our  mothers  and  our  grandmothers 
used  by  the  tallow  dip,  stitching  a  piece  of  another  color  in  the 
opening  we  had  made  in  our  unmentionables  by  too  frequent 
sliding  down  an  inclined  board,  while  we  peered  out  from  under- 
neath the  coverlet  of  our  own  trundlebed,  having  had  to  retire  too 
early  to  go  to  sleep  on  account  of  not  having  the  other  pair,  and, 
like  all  other  things  of  antiquated  husbandry,  have  lost  their 
identity  as  a  first  cause. 

/  The  little  wheel,  the  big  wheel, 

The  hackle  and  the  flax ; 
The  knot  maul,  the  nigger  maul, 
The  iron  wedge  and  ax. 

They  were  to  us  a  luxury, 

A  tidal  wave  of  yore, 

But  now  are  numbered  with  the  things 

Of  a  thousand  years  before. 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING.  53 

Mr.  Henry  Canaday,  who  lives  near  Georgetown,  has  been  a 
resident  for  nearly  sixty  years,  and  has  seen  produce  at  its  highest 
market  price  and  its  lowest.  He  lias  known  corn  to  sell,  after  it 
was  cribbed,  at  6^  cents  per  bushel,  and  has  known  it  to  sell  for 
$1.00  per  bushel;  pork  as  low  as  $1.50  per  hundred,  net,  and  as 
high  as  $14.00  per  hundred,  net.  He  once  sold  a  lot  of  hogs  for 
10  cents,  gross,  which  netted  him  $36.00  per  head.  Wheat,  50 
cents  per  bushel ;  oats,  8  cents  per  bushel,  and  rye  three  pecks. 
He  went  to  the  old  wall  sweep  horse  mill,  and  marked  his  sacks 
with  a  fire  coal. 

The  writer,  in  an  early  day,  has  known  corn  to  sell  for  6^  cents 
per  bushel  in  the  field,  and  has  seen  the  farmer  burning  fodder, 
corn  and  all,  to  clear  the  ground  for  the  spring  plowing. 

Soon  after  the  town  of  Georgetown  was  laid  out,  pretty  much 
all  classes  of  business  were  represented.  Leading  in  the  mercantile 
business  was  Benjamin  •  Canaday,  James  Culbertsou,  James 
Trimbley,  Ura  Aston,  Abraham  and  Abner  Frazier.  The  build- 
ing in  which  the  Frazier  Brothers  first  did  business  is  still  standing 
on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  square,  and  is  known  as  the  "  little 
pink,"  given  that  name  from  its  color,  by  its  present  owner,  Win. 
M.  Moore.  All  the  merchants  of  that  day  kept  what  is  termed 
a  general  store,  and  you  could  be  furnished  with  any  thing  from 
a  fine-tooth  comb  to  a  saw  mill,  and  from  a  keg  of  soft  soap  to  a 
silk  dress.  Canaday  and  Abner  Frazier  were  the  last  of  the  above 
named  to  quit  the  business  here;  Cauaday  retiring  in  1870,  after 
amassing  quite  a  fortue.  J.  K.  Richie,  a  present  resident  of  our 
town,  and  son-in-law  of  Canaday,  owns  the  principal  part  of  his 
landed  estate.  Mr.  Canaday  died  in  1875. 

Abuer  Frazier  retired  later,  in  1878,  and  died  in  1880,  arrang- 
ing his  own  estate  in  its  distribution,  cutting  out  the  usual  large 
court  fees  attending  the  settlement  of  such  estates. 

Uncle  William  Taylor  was  one  among  the  first  settlers,  coming- 
in  about  1831.  He -was  the  cabinet  workman  for  all  this  country, 
making  it  his  business  for  about  30  years.  He  died  in  1878.  His 
widow  still  lives  in  our  town. 

John  Newlin  was  here  in  an  early  day,  and  was  prominent  in 
the  business  matters  of  Georgetown  for  many  years.  He  is  now  a 
resident  of  Buckley,  111. 


54  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE 

William  Hesler  came  in  1833,  and  can  relate  many  very  laugh- 
able circumstances  of  the  pioneer  life.  He  still  lives  here. 

Martin  Brachall  was  quite  an  old  settler,  and  followed  tailoring 
here  for  many  years.  He  resides  now  in  Danville,  still  tailoring  a 
little. 

Dr.  A.  M.  C.  Hawes  came  in  1836.  He  is  one  among  the  oldest 
living  citizens  of  the  place,  and  has  been  practicing  medicine  ever 
since  his  arrival,  which,  up  to  date,  has  been  50  years,  and  he  still 
practices. 

J.  C.  Jones,  who  came  here  in  1831,  lives  west  of  town.  He, 
Achilles  Spicer  and  Levi  Long,  are  the  oldest  settlers  now  living 
west  of  the  town.  Mr.  Jones  says  that  in  1834  they  heard  tllfe  first 
talk  of  a  railroad  through  this  country.  The  contemplated  line 
was  to  have  run  from  Chicago  to  Vincennes,  the  two  cities  of  note 
at  that  time.  To  show  the  idea  people  had  of  the  construction  of 
railroads,  we  state  that  Mr.  Jones  says  that  Jessie  spoke  to  Levi  and 
wanted  to  engage  him,  if  the  much  talked  of  road  came  through 
this  way,  to  make  rails  for  him,  as  he  should  want  to  furnish  them 
with  a  good  supply  of  white  oak  rails.  Jessie  has  gone  where  the 
rumble  of  railroads  does  not  disturb  him,  but  Levi  is  still  here  and 
able  to  make  rails,  yet,  if  that  then  contemplated  line  of  road  was 
to  pass  this  way.  About  that  time  there  lived  a  man  in  Edgar 
County,  by  the  name  of  Riley,  who,  it  is  said,  made  the  remark  that 
he  and  his  son  William  had  made;  quite  a  number  of  nigger  mauls 
through  the  winter  time,  while  the  sap  was  down,  and  had  them 
seasinyninfl  for  the  summer  work  to  make  rails  for  the  railroad 
when  it  it  should  come  along.  These  men  of  early  day  wagoned 
to  Chicago  with  produce  of  all  kinds,  meal,  apples,  oats,  chickens 
and  'coon  skins. 

On  the  cast  and  north  of  town  we  find  Jesse  Hollo  way,  Luke 
Dillon,  Solomon  White,  James  Gardner,  John  Starks,  Joseph 
Smith,  James  Ogdon,  Dr.  Abraham  Smith — -now  living  in  Chns- 
man,  Edgar  County ;  Win.  Haworth,  John  Bra/leton,  Wm.  Sheets, 
John  Kyger,  James  Graves,  Samuel  Eakin,  Achilles  Morgan,  Sam- 
uel Huffman — living  in  Mo.;  Dr.  Tlios.  Hawood,  Jacob  Gants — 
still  lives,  and  walked  500  miles  to  get  here,  in  1831 ;  Eli  Hub- 
bard — yet  living;  James  Waters — still  living;  and  Charley  Yoho 
— living. 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING.  55 

Major  John  Sloan  was  no  doubt  the  first  blacksmith  in  the  vil- 
lage, following  the  business  here  for  a  great  many  years. 

Ben  Horton  was  the  constable,  and  Samuel  Brazleton  kept  hotel. 
So  did  Anderson  once  upon  a  time,  keep  hotel  in  Georgetown. 
Robert  Cork  and  Elisha  Chambers  were  also  residents  of  this  town. 

James  McDaniel  wore  the  belt  as  the  pugilist  of  this  section, 
but  John  Rees,  an  old  time  Quaker,  who  did  not  believe  in  the 
science  of  the  ring,  could  not  stand  Jimmie's  abuse,  caught  him  one 
day,  and  held  him  in  his  vise  grip,  conquering  the  bully  in  that 
way. 

Dr.  Abraham  Smith  at  this  time  was  in  his  prime,  and  was  a 
powerful  man  ;  not  so  much  for  the  ring,  but  did  considerable  fight- 
ing. He  performed  many  feats  of  great  strength,  such  as  taking  a 
barrel  of  whiskey  by  the  chimes  and  holding  it  up  and  drinking 
from  the  bung  hole  twice  before  laying  the  barrel  down.  This  feat 
he  told  the  writer  of  himself,  only  a  few  weeks  ago.  There  are 
several  fabulous  feats  of  strength  told  of  him  which  we  will  not 
chronicle.  He  says  he  could  wallow  Jim  McDaniel  in  a  scuffle, 
but  they  never  fought  each  other.  Mr.  Smith  will  be  91  years  old 
his  next  birthday,  and  he  has  promised  to  be  with  us  at  the  reunion 
this  year,  if  possible. 

Corn  meal  ground  on  the  old  wooden  sweep  horse  mill  and 
carted  to  Chicago,  would  bring  25  cents  per  bushel ;  it  was  good, 
too.  One  of  those  pre- Adamite  institutions  once  stood  in  the  north 
part  of  Georgetown.  The  mill  of  the  gods  ground  slow  then,  surely, 
but  they  ground  exceedingly  coarse.  It  was  called  Wright's  mill, 
and  went  to  decay  in  1838.  The  posts  upon  which  the  structure 
rested,  which  were  about  8  feet  high,  were  still  standing  in  1848. 

We  have  other  names  which  we  have  not  given,  some  of  which 
we  give  below,  as  living  east  and  north  of  Georgetown  :  Benj. 
Brooks,  James  O'Neal — the  first  child  born  in  the  County — Moses 
Scott,  James  Stephens,  Mr.  Dukes,  John  Black,  John  L.  Sconce, 
John  Gowen,  James  Cook,  Wm.  Gants,  living;  John  Underwood. 
These  lived  mostly  on  Grape  Creek  and  in  Brooks'  Point;  all 
farmers,  all  doing  well,  who  took  land.  Thomas  Morgan,  Elara 
and  Nattie  Henderson,  Julian  Ellis,  John  and  Baptist  Millikan ; 
these  were  nearly  or  all  farmers,  and  became  easy  livers  by  holding 
on  to  their  lands. 


56  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE 

I  am  satisfied,  as  I  close  this  disconnected  statement,  that  there 
are  many  names  that  should  be  recorded  in  it  that  I  have  not  been 
able  to  get.  not  knowing  who  to  enquire  of.  But  this  will  have  to 
do  and  atone  for  the  time  and  opportunity  I  have  had. 

I  want  to  say  before  I  close,  that  we  have  a  lady  living  within 
two  and  a  half  miles  of  our  town  who  will  be,  if  she  lives  until 
next  October,  95  years  old.  She  is  Mis.  Nancy  Harris,  a  widow 
lady,  living  west  of  town.  Miss  Hannah  Kyger,  living  east  of 
town,  is  perhaps  the  oldest  resident  of  the  Township  living.  She 
is  now  in  her  90th  year.  They  will  both,  it  is  hoped,  be  in  attend- 
ance at  the  Old  Settlers'  encampment,  August  26th,  1886. 

To-day  Georgetown  has  a  population  of  about  1,000.  Her 
improvements  have  not  been  of  the  mushroom  growth,  it  is  true, 
but  of  late  years  they  have  been  of  a  permanent  and  substantial 
quality,  and  the  present  inhabitants  look  like  they  were  arranging 
their  affairs  to  stay.  We  have  the  largest  hall — Richie  Hall — there 
is  in  the  County  outside  of  Danville;  three  churches — Methodist, 
Cumberland  Presbyterian,  and  Friends  or  Quakers.  We  have  two 
steam  flouring  mills,  and  the  usual  proportion  of  stores,  shops, 
restaurants,  &c.,  tfcc. ;  one  fine  school  building,  one  model  hotel, 
and  the  only  bridge  across  the  Little  Vermilion,  save  one,  from 
this  place  to  its  head.  The  bridge  is  a  magnificent  structure,  and 
was  erected  in  1885.  And  all  this  without  the  aid  of  a  saloon. 
The  day  when  one  of  those  institutions  held  sway  in  this  village 
is  not  in  the  memory  of  any  of  the  thirty-year  old  children;  and 
for  the  past  five  years  there  has  not  been  a  place  where  spirits 
could  be  obtained  for  any  purpose  whatever,  not  excepting  the 
most  necessary  cases,  such  as  snake  bites,  mad  dog  bites,  bee  stings 
or  sheep  washing,  save  from  the  dogfennel,  back-alley  jug.  So 
we  are  a  quiet,  inoffensive,  happy  people,  not  requiring  more  than 
a  half  dozen  policemen  and  a  small  battery  of  six  guns  to  keep  us 
in  line  at  any  time.  And  for  that  reason  they  have  awarded  us  the 
Old  Settlers'  reunion  the  second  vear. 


OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING.  57 


BRIEF  SUMMARY  OF  REMARKS  BY  W.  R.  JEWELL. 

(Referred  to  on  page  2i>.) 


The  strong  incentives  which  led  the  pioneer  men  and  women 
to  seek  homes  in  the  wilderness  of  forests  and  prairies,  were  their 
love  of  home,  love  of  independence,  and  love  of  possessing  and 
controlling  land  and  property  in  their  own  right.  These  pioneers 
were  not  mere  roving  adventurers,  but  home-seekers;  when  they 
settled  upon  a  piece  of  land  they  came  to  stay ;  to  this  rule  there 
are  few  exceptions.  Many  of  .them,  as  we  have  heard  to-day,  are 
yet  on  the  land  they  first  settled ;  the  children  of  many  more  hold 
the  lands  their  parents  settled. 

These  old  settlers  came  as  the  greatest  civilizing  and  subduing 
force  which  has  ever  taken  possession  of  this  continent.  For  untold 
centuries  the  rocky  hills,  fertile  valleys,  dense  forests  and  oceanic 
prairies  had  been  unconquered  by  civilization.  These  men  and 
women  advanced,  armed  with  rifle,  axe,  plow,  hoe,  sled,  wagon 
and  other  implements  of  destruction  of  the  wild,  and  construction 
of  the  domestic. 

The  battle  was  fierce,  from  the  mosquito,  rattlesnake  and  ague 
— so  graphically  described  in  song  on  this  stand  to-day — to  the 
savage  Indian.  But  all  were  conquered  or  endured,  and  the  battle 
fought  to  victory — a  victory  so  complete  and  splendid  that  many  of 
the  first  settlers  of  this  State  are  here,  this  afternoon,  with  the 
third  and  fourth  generation,  and  behold  the  great  red-faced  sun 
declining  yonder  in  the  west,  smiling  upon  the  freest,  the  grandest, 
the  healthiest,  the  most  fruitful  Nation  on  the  globe. 

Pioneer  Fathers  and  Mothers,  no  wonder  that  you  feel  a 
sanctified  pride  in  the  work  which  you  and  your  children  have 
wrought.  We,  who  are  younger,  are  proud  of  such  an  ancestry ; 
we  arise,  uncovered,  and  call  you  blessed,  and  following  us  long 
generations  will  do  the  same. 

You  are  lords  of  the  soil  by  right  of  its  conquest ;  you  are 
kings  by  right  of  your  God -given  right  to  rule,  and  greatest  of 


58  puorKKmxfis  OF  THE  OLD  SETTLERS'  MKKTI.M;. 


kin^s  lor  so  long  and  so  well  ruling-  yourselves.  You  are  rich  by 
the  exercise  of  industry,  wise  economy  and  self-imposed  temper- 
ance; you  are  blessed  with*  long  life  by  reason  of  your  simple, 
modest  habits,  the  wholesomeness  of  your  food,  and  complete  pro- 
tection of  good  clothing  and  homes. 

May  the  present  and  coming  generations  never  forget  your  love 
of,  and  devotion  to  home  and  family ;  may  thev  never  cease  to 
practice  your  habits  of  constant  industry,  frugality  and  temperance. 
1 1' we  will  resolutely  face  hard  times  with  hard  work  and  hard 
economy,  as  you  always  did,  hard  times  will  soon  flee.  If  we  will 
deny  ourselves  all  but  absolute  necessities,  that  we  may  save  money 
and  pay  debts,  as  you  have  done,  we  shall  soon  be  free  of  the 
burthens  of  interest  and  mortgages.  If  we  will  all  take  hold, 
little  and  big,  in  doors  and  out,  as  you  have  done,  there  will  be 
plenty  in  all  our  homes,  fullness  in  all  the  land. 

But  the  sweet  day  draws  fast  to  the  close;  .the  sun  shakes  his 
golden  locks  just  above  the  golden  and  purple  sugar  tree  tops, 
glorifying  the  world  with  a  good-night  kiss  of  light;  we  are  loth 
to  leave  this  place  of  warm  reunion  and  thrilling  reminiscence,  yet 
we  must  go.  •  May  the  God  whom  you  haVe  believed  in  and 
worshiped  all  these  years,  and  whom  you  thank  as  the  author  and 
giver  of  all  good  and  the  soother  of  all  sorrows,  be  with  and  bless 
you  yet  another  year,  and  bring  you  to  another  reunion  in  1886,  is 
the  prayer  of  my  heart,  in  which,  I  well  know,  all  heartily  join. 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

J.  H.  OAKWOOD,  President — Remarks 3 

REV.  ELI  HELMICK — PraySr 4 

CONSTITUTION 5 

ORGANIZATION  OF  ASSOCIATION 6 

H.  W.  BECKWITH — Address 7 

First  Court  House 11 

First  Grand  Jury 12 

Harrison's    Purchase 14 

County  Seat  Located 17 

Indian    Chief  Nemika 19 

Early    Methodist  Preachers 20 

REGISTER  OF  OLD  SETTLERS 22 

ALEX.  DOUGHERTY — Remarks 25 

WM.  M.  PAYNE — Remarks 25 

JOHN  W.  MIRES — Remarks 26 

ISAAC  SIMPSON — Remarks 27 

JAMES   DOUGHERTY — Remarks 27 

LEVI  LONG — Remarks 28 

HENRY  SALLEE — Remarks  29 

J.  H.  OAKWOOD — Recollections  of 30 

The   Indians 32 

Sickness. 32 

Farming  and  Implements 34 

Live  Stock 34 

Clothing  37 

Markets 40 

Farm    Implements... 41 

Schools  '. 42 

Teachers  48 

The  Pioneers     44 

MRS.  FIDELIA  COLEMAN — Letter 45 

W.  C.  COWAN — Georgetown  Township 48 

Early    Settlement 49 

Georgetown  Town  Site 51 

W.  R.  JEWELL — Remarks 57 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

977.3650L1P  C001 

PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  OLD  SETTLERS'  MEETING 


30112025395325 


